Quarterback Tim Couch, the top overall choice in the 1999 draft, was cut by the Green Bay Packers as teams got down to the 53-man roster limit for the NFL regular season on Sunday.
Couch was drafted by Cleveland and released by the Browns in June. He joined the Packers and was projected as Brett Favre's backup. But he never progressed.
"He just wasn't productive enough," Packers coach-general manager Mike Sherman said. "We took a shot in hoping he could be the guy. I don't think it's the first time in the league that you were wrong on somebody. It certainly won't be my last time and it wasn't my first time.
"It's unfortunate," Couch said. "I'm disappointed it didn't work out. I really thought with the tapes I studied last year, I really thought it would work out. It didn't."
Couch, who got a US$625,000 roster bonus from Green Bay when he signed, completed just 11 of 34 passes for 96 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in three preseason games.
Two other former Packers, running back Dorsey Levens and wide receiver Antonio Freeman, also had brief stints with new teams before being cut on Sunday.
Levens, 34, was signed two weeks ago after the Eagles lost Correll Buckhalter to a season-ending knee injury. Levens ran for 37 yards on 12 carries in his only game against the New York Jets.
Freeman joined the Dolphins earlier this summer after David Boston was lost for the season. But his lack of speed and inability to make any plays in the preseason got him released.
Morten Andersen, the second-leading scorer in NFL history, had his contract terminated by Kansas City. Andersen was beaten out by Lawrence Tynes, who kicked the past two seasons in the Canadian Football League.
"I am sure he will find a place," Vermeil said of Andersen. "He could end up kicking against us."
The 44-year-old Andersen has 2,259 points.
New Orleans cut 15-year veteran center Jerry Fontenot, who lost his position to LeCharles Bentley, who moved over from guard. Fontenot, 37, started all 80 games the past five seasons and was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate last season.
"I certainly hold my head high, knowing that I did everything the coaches asked of me and everything the organization asked of me," Fontenot said. "I feel very blessed in my career."
The Saints also let go of linebacker Darrin Smith, who was with them since 2000.
San Diego cut receiver Kevin Dyson, a member of the Titans and Panthers when each played in the Super Bowl, and safety Kwamie Lassiter. Lassiter, a nine-year pro, started for the Chargers last year.
The Chargers kept four quarterbacks: Projected starter Drew Brees, first-round draft choice Philip Rivers, veteran Doug Flutie, and Cleo Lemon.
Other notable moves:
-- Veteran DL Bryan Robinson, who had been with the Bears since 1998, was cut. Robinson played both defensive end and tackle in 100 games, with 82 starts.
-- Damien Robinson went on Seattle's injured reserve list. He missed several practices with a bruised shoulder.
The Seahawks also announced second-year tackle Wayne Hunter has been suspended one game by the NFL for violation of the league's personal conduct policy. Hunter was involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend last summer.
-- Jarrett Payton, son of the late Walter Payton who was a former teammate of Titans coach Jeff Fisher's in Chicago, was cut by Tennessee. Fisher said Payton knew the situation from the start.
"He was going to be given an opportunity to get better. He took care of the ball in preseason games and to be evaluated. That's what we did. We kept our commitment to him," Fisher said.
-- Nine-year veteran DE Regan Upshaw, who started only eight games after signing a five-year, US$7.5 million contract with Washington, was released.
-- New England cut CB Terrell Buckley, 33, who played 31 games in the 2001 and 2002 seasons, winning a Super Bowl.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
FOCUS: ‘We came out here with a goal in mind ... to keep our foot on their throat and on their neck, and continue to play 48 minutes of basketball,’ Donovan Mitchell said The Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday thrashed the Miami Heat to cruise into the next round of the NBA playoffs as the Golden State Warriors battled past the Houston Rockets 109-106 to move to the brink of a series victory. After pounding Miami 124-87 in game three on Saturday, No.1 Eastern Conference seeds Cleveland once again piled on the misery for their outclassed opponents with a crushing 138-83 victory to complete a 4-0 series win. The 55-point drubbing was the largest series-clinching victory in NBA playoff history and sets up a series against either the Indiana Pacers or Milwaukee Bucks in
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
RSS