10 NFL Veterans Who Could Be on the Roster Bubble

Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Detroit Lions

It’s odd how fantasy football can distort our views of a player. I was convinced that the Detroit Lions’ Brandon Pettigrew was an unspectacular-but-quality receiving tight end in the NFL early in his career. When looking at the numbers, however, he’s never had a season with even a 0.60 Reception NEP per target. He did have three consecutive years early on where he picked up more than 100 targets, but he’s totaled 30 targets over the past two seasons for a combined 0.32 Reception NEP per target over those two years. Pettigrew’s best days are behind him.

With Eric Ebron in the fold, Pettigrew is nothing more than an expensive blocking tight end who is paid like a receiver. He’s unlikely to be cut, due to the Lions’ tight end situation, but he’d be a worthwhile way to squeeze a few extra pennies out of this roster due to his $4.63 million cap hit this year -- the 13th-highest among veteran tight ends.

Cut Savings: $2.65 million