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It's one of the hardest days of the year for the NFL, when teams have to begin cutting down rosters down to 75 -- and then later before the regular season begins, down to 53.
Unfortunately, some former Wisconsin Badgers were among those released on Tuesday:
- Per WWL's Kristian Garic and later confirmed by the team itself, the New Orleans Saints waived wide receiver Nick Toon (waive/injured). Toon caught 21 receptions for 283 yards and a touchdown in two seasons with the Saints, but suffered an ankle injury that would sideline him two to three weeks. Head coach Sean Payton did note Toon could return to the team with injured reserve.
- ESPN's Vaughn McClure first reported the Atlanta Falcons reached an injury settlement with offensive lineman Peter Konz. The team announced later in the afternoon. Konz played in 39 games for Atlanta in three seasons, starting 28.
- The Falcons also released rookie defensive lineman Warren Herring
- The Pittsburgh Steelers released wide receiver Kenzel Doe on Monday
- Former Wisconsin-Whitewater quarterback Matt Blanchard was also let go by the Green Bay Packers
In good news, wide receiver Jared Abbrederis returned to practice for the Packers on Tuesday. Abbrederis suffered a concussion on the first day of training camp and had been sidelined since then. He'll play in his first football game since the Capital One Bowl in Jan. 2014. Abbrederis spoke with reporters, with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Michael Cohen detailing the former Wisconsin walk-ons answers to the media, especially with his most recent injury:
(On the concussion influencing his future in football) "I think you've got to be 100 percent confident with how you feel, your body. Because if you're not, then you're not going to be able to play at this level just because you can't have any doubts. I think the organization here did a really good job turning over every stone and things like that so I can have my confidence. With a knee or anything like that, if you don't have confidence in your knee you can't play. It's the same with any injury. You've just got to be confident. They did a really good job turning over every stone, and I have full confidence right now."