COWBOYS
Sanchez backup QB
Mark Sanchez will be the Dallas Cowboys' backup quarterback to start the season, the team website announced. The Cowboys and Sanchez reached a deal Saturday, shortly after he was cut by the Denver Broncos.
Sanchez gives the Cowboys a veteran backup to rookie Dak Prescott. Sanchez has started 72 games in a six-year career, going 37-35 in those games.
Sanchez has thrown for 15,126 yards in his career with 86 touchdowns and 84 interceptions. He has a career passer rating of 74.3.
The Cowboys have been searching for a veteran option ever since Tony Romo sustained a compression fracture in his lower back that will sideline him in the early part of the season.
Second-year pro Jameill Showers showed his inexperience during the preseason finale against Houston on Thursday, and the Cowboys made it clear they would be active in seeing what options may become available.
Sanchez, the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, proved to be the best option. He played in two preseason games for the Broncos, completing 20 of 30 passes for 219 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also had two lost fumbles.
McFadden on injury list
The Dallas Cowboys have placed Darren McFadden on the non-football injury list to start the season, sidelining their leading rusher from last year for at least six games.
The move with McFadden on Saturday helped the Cowboys get to the 53-man roster limit, but more moves are coming.
Dallas has to decide whether to start the season with quarterback Tony Romo on the injured reserve-return list with a broken bone in his back, which would knock him out of the first seven games. The Cowboys also have to make a decision behind rookie starter Dak Prescott. For now, Dallas is keeping second-year player Jameill Showers.
Defensive end Mike McAdoo went on the waived/injured list despite a strong performance in the preseason finale against Houston.
Tight end Rico Gathers, trying to make the transition from basketball, was waived, but is a likely candidate for the practice squad if no team claims him.
CHIEFS
Two QBs cut
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Chiefs have cut quarterbacks Aaron Murray and rookie Kevin Hogan, meaning Tyler Bray will be the backup to Alex Smith and Nick Foles for the regular-season opener against San Diego.
The Chiefs announced a series of roster moves Saturday to reach the NFL's limit of 53 players, though they actually have 54 on the active roster. They have an exemption for franchise safety Eric Berry, who did not report to camp until last weekend, that does not expire until next weekend.
Along with a series of cuts, the Chiefs traded cornerback Marcus Cooper to Arizona and wide receiver Rod Streater to San Francisco for undisclosed draft picks.
They wound up keeping fringe running back Knile Davis and wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas.
49ERS
Keeping Kaepernick
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Colin Kaepernick survived San Francisco's roster cuts on Saturday when the 49ers determined that his ability as a quarterback more than offset any potential distraction over his refusal to stand during the national anthem.
The 49ers announced that Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder will be the team's three quarterbacks to start their first season with Chip Kelly as coach. Kelly had telegraphed that move earlier in the week when he called Kaepernick one of his team's two best quarterbacks.
Kaepernick's status on the team was briefly in question after his anthem protest over racial oppression and police brutality in the United States became public last weekend.
RAMS
18 waived, 2 terminated
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Rams have waived 18 players and terminated the contracts of linebacker Akeem Ayers and defensive tackle Cam Thomas.
The Rams announced the roster moves Saturday to reach the 53-man regular-season limit.
The players waived by Los Angeles included several key figures on the team's current season of Hard Knocks, HBO's NFL reality show. Center Eric Kush, defensive end Ian Seau and receivers Austin Hill and Paul McRoberts all were waived.
Ayers is a Los Angeles native who played at UCLA. Thomas signed with Los Angeles in June after six NFL seasons with San Diego and Pittsburgh.
Los Angeles also placed offensive linemen Garrett Reynolds and Darrell Williams on injured reserve.
BRONCOS
Move saves $3.5M
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Mark Sanchez, Denver's biggest offseason acquisition, didn't make the roster, saving the Broncos $3.5 million and a seventh-round draft pick.
General Manager John Elway acquired Sanchez from the Philadelphia Eagles after Peyton Manning retired in March and Brock Osweiler bolted to Houston in free agency two days later. Sanchez, however, was beaten out by second-year pro Trevor Siemian, a seventh-round pick in 2015 from Northwestern.
The backup is rookie Paxton Lynch, a first-round pick who will get plenty of work at practice as he continues adjusting from the spread offense he operated at Memphis to Coach Gary Kubiak's West Coast offense.
The Broncos open the season Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, whom they beat in Super Bowl 50.
REDSKINS
Veteran DL released
ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins have released veteran defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins and waived fifth-round pick Matt Ioannidis to cut down to their initial 53-man roster.
The team announced the moves after the 4 p.m. Saturday deadline.
Washington opted to keep rookie Nate Sudfeld, a sixth-round draft pick out of Indiana, as its third quarterback.
Jenkins was released five days after the Redskins signed him. The 35-year-old played in the preseason finale Wednesday at Tampa Bay.
Along with Ioannidis, the Redskins released guard Josh LeRibeus, a 2012 third-round pick, and tight end Logan Paulsen, who has been with the team since 2010 but missed last season with an injury.
Undrafted rookie defensive lineman Anthony Lanier made the team after an impressive training camp.
The Redskins activated rookie receiver Josh Doctson off the physically unable to perform list.
DOLPHINS
Keeping 5 RBs
MIAMI -- The Miami Dolphins have kept five running backs after reaching their regular-season roster limit, but released veteran Daniel Thomas, ending his third stint with the team.
Thomas was beaten out for a roster spot Saturday by Isaiah Pead, a former second-round pick who has had only two carries since 2013.
Also making the roster were seventh-round pick Brandon Doughty as Miami's third quarterback, defensive ends Terrence Fede and Julius Warmsley, and linebacker Mike Hull. All had been considered on the bubble.
The Dolphins placed cornerback Chris Culliver on the physically unable to perform list. Culliver, recovering from a serious knee injury last Thanksgiving, will be eligible to begin practicing after the sixth game.
VIKINGS
3 of 8 draft picks gone
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings have let go of three of their eight draft picks, waiving guard Willie Beavers, wide receiver Moritz Bohringer and defensive end Stephen Weatherly in the process of setting the roster for the regular season.
Quarterbacks Joel Stave and Brad Sorensen were among the 20 cuts made Saturday by the Vikings, who also sent their 2017 first-round draft pick and a 2018 fourth-round selection to the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford. With Teddy Bridgewater on injured reserve and Taylor Heinicke on the non-football injury list, the Vikings have only two quarterbacks for now with Shaun Hill and Bradford.
Beavers was taken in the fourth round out of Western Michigan. Bohringer became the first player in NFL history drafted straight from Europe. Weatherly was a seventh-round pick via Vanderbilt.
EAGLES
Bradford traded, 21 released
PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles traded Sam Bradford and released 21 players to reach the 53-man roster limit Saturday.
Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, 2014 Pro Bowl kicker Cody Parkey, safety Ed Reynolds and linebacker Najee Goode were among the cuts. Philadelphia only has four linebackers on the roster, so it's likely the team will make more moves.
The list includes LBs Don Cherry, Quentin Gause and Myke Tavarres; S Blake Countess; DT Bruce Gaston; G Darrell Greene; WRs Marcus Johnson, David Watford and Cayleb Jones; C/G Barrett Jones; RBs Byron Marshall and Cedric O'Neal; TEs M.J. McFarland and Chris Pantale; DE Jake Metz; CB JaCorey Shepherd and DT Aziz Shittu.
Sports on 09/04/2016