One surprise cut candidate from each NFL team in 2022

Baltimore Ravens: Kevin Zeitler, OG

Last season, the biggest weakness for the Baltimore Ravens was their offensive line. That won’t be the case in 2022 as they went out and added much more talent to the group.

Their biggest addition was Tyler Linderbaum who will play center for them, shoring things up in the middle. They also picked up Morgan Moses to play right tackle and drafted Daniel Faalale from Minnesota who will be the swing tackle.

As for their guards, they return Kevin Zeitler and Tyre Phillips. But are both jobs safe with former Georgia Bulldog Ben Cleveland on the bench looking for a shot?

There could end up being a scenario where Cleveland beats out Kevin Zeitler for the starting job and if so, the Ravens might elect to go with youth as they rehaul the offensive line.

It wouldn’t be huge savings for them and they would take a hit with dead money but Baltimore is another team that could look to simply get some money off the book in 2022 (that would also help them save in 2023) and start working on a deal for their young quarterback.

Lamar Jackson and the Ravens might be far apart right now but they need to find a way to lock him up because things could go south for them in a hurry if Jackson were gone.

Buffalo Bills: A.J. Epenesa, EDGE

The Buffalo Bills added A.J. Epenesa at pick No. 54 in the 2020 NFL Draft. At times during the pre-draft process, Epenesa was seen as a possible late Round 1 pick, so the Bills seemed to get a great value where they landed the Iowa product.

However, as a rookie, he didn’t see the field much and ended up with just 14 tackles and one sack. He appeared in 14 games with only one start and the Bills were apparently unimpressed as they added two defensive ends in the next draft.

In Round 1, they took Greg Rousseau out of Miami who played well as a rookie with 50 tackles and four sacks. In Round 2, they took Carlos “Boogie” Basham from Wake Forest who missed nine games but still had 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Even Basham — in only eight games — outperformed Epenesa who had another 14 tackles with 1.5 sacks in 2021.

Now heading into 2022, the Bills added Von Miller who will start across from Rousseau and Basham will be one of the primary reserves. They also brought back Shaq Lawson in free agency, which could be enough for Buffalo to move on from Epensa after just two seasons.

While many of these moves would be motivated by cash savings, this one would simply be a numbers game that leaves the young man on the outside looking in.