NFL Preseason Week 3 Risers and Fallers: Who Has Helped and Hurt Their Roster Chances

The 2026 NFL preseason is coming to a close this weekend, and roster spots are up for grabs.

While most teams have likely made a majority of their decisions ahead of the league’s upcoming cutdown deadline—where rosters must be trimmed to 53 players—the final slate of preseason games still serves as one last showcase, whether that be for players trying to win a position battle, or to put good play on tape for a potential opportunity elsewhere.

With that in mind, here’s who’s rising and falling after heading into Sunday’s roster cuts.

Faller: QB Tua Tagovailoa, Atlanta Falcons

Days after NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Tua Tagovailoa’s play this preseason has made it “impossible” for him to win the Falcons’ starting quarterback job, he put together an average (at best) performance in Atlanta’s preseason finale.

While he did open up the contest with a touchdown drive against his former team, the signal-caller followed it up with a fumble on the first play of their next possession—immediately giving the football back to Miami. It was Tagovailoa’s second fumbled snap this preseason, and his third if you count joint practice.

.@MiamiDolphins RECOVER THE FUMBLE! 🚨

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— NFL (@NFL) August 28, 2026

“I thought Tua did a nice job operating,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said of Tagovailoa’s performance Friday night. “Obviously moving the football for a couple drives. Plenty to clean up. An avoidable center-to-quarterback exchange. We have to clean that up. And we will. I thought by and large, [he] operated.”

On the night as a whole, Tagovailoa completed seven of his eight pass attempts for 95 yards over three first-quarter possessions. Still, with Michael Penix Jr. returning to full-team drills this week, the 28-year-old’s path to the team’s starting quarterback job is becoming narrower.

Riser: QB Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland Browns

While the Browns officially named Deshaun Watson their starting quarterback earlier this week—and Shedeur Sanders the backup—third-stringer Dillon Gabriel is the one who shined in Cleveland’s preseason finale Thursday night.

Gabriel played the entire first half against the Patriots and led the offense on four scoring drives, going 12-for-15 passing for 186 yards and three touchdowns and notching a near-perfect passer rating of 157.9.

Third TD of the first half for Dillon Gabriel 😤

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/ZGXWBNk4dg
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 28, 2026

“At some point you want to see your hard work coming to fruition in a real live setting,” Gabriel said after the game. “And of course it wasn’t exactly what I wanted the first two preseason games, and that’s probably the frustrating part on my end. But then being able to go out today with a bunch of great dudes and a real [opportunity] to just make the most of it, maxing in the moment, that’s really what it’s all about.”

Cleveland coach Todd Monken wouldn’t commit to keeping both Gabriel and sixth-round pick Taylen Green on the roster behind Watson and Sanders, but Gabriel’s most recent performance will likely make their decision in the quarterback room all the more difficult.

Faller: QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

Tasked with trying to win the Vikings’ backup quarterback job behind starter Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy instead sat out Minnesota’s preseason finale vs. the Broncos.

The No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft was supposed to start on Friday night, but after taking it slow this week at practice due to the ankle injury he suffered against the Ravens last weekend, he was ultimately held out of the game.

In his place, veteran signal-caller Carson Wentz went 3-for-4 passing on his lone two drives of the game.

They say the best ability in the NFL is availability, and McCarthy has hardly exuded that over his first three seasons in the league. Should the Vikings ultimately decide to go forward with Wentz as their No. 2 quarterback (and not carry a third), then it’s not out of the realm of possibility that McCarthy could be cut outright this weekend—barring a trade.

Riser: WR Kyle Williams, New England Patriots

One of the few position groups on the Patriots that isn’t hurting for depth is wide receiver, which allowed them to trade away Kayshon Boutte to the Texans this week.

The main beneficiary of the move? Kyle Williams.

With Drake Maye’s favorite deep-ball target from last season now in Houston, Williams has an incredible opportunity in front of him within the New England offense. He showed off what he may be able to do with it throughout the preseason.

Over three games, the 23-year-old speedster out of Washington State has caught six passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns— including the below 45-yard bomb from Tommy DeVito on Thursday night against the Browns.

Tommy DeVito drops it in to Kyle Williams for 6️⃣

NEvsCLE on Prime Video
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— NFL (@NFL) August 28, 2026

Williams will look to carve out a role in a still-crowded Patriots’ wide receiver room that also features A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas and Mack Hollins.

Faller: OT Broderick Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers

Broderick Jones has played both tackle spots for the Steelers throughout the summer, starting on the left side and logging 49 offensive snaps in the team’s preseason opener before moving to the right in Week 2, where he played 54 snaps and allowed five quarterback pressures and two sacks.

Then, against the Bills on Thursday night, he played both. According to PFF, Jones played 37 snaps in Pittsburgh’s preseason finale—22 at left tackle and 15 at right.

Broderick Jones is so lost. pic.twitter.com/PZEBY4FtKl
— Steel Legends (@Steel_Legends) August 28, 2026

Jones’s outing didn’t go great, and it’s no secret that the 2023 first-round pick has struggled this preseason. He admitted as such this week. And yet, even while considering him a faller heading into the regular season, there’s a chance Jones not only makes the team, but starts in Week 1 given the state of the rest of the Steelers’ tackle room.

Riser: OLB Cam Gill, Carolina Panthers

Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time is exactly what you need to do in order to make a roster in the NFL.

While competing for a spot along the Panthers’ defensive front this summer, outside linebacker Cam Gill has recovered three (!) fumbles to get the football back to his offense—including two on Thursday night against the Texans.

Gimme dat 😼

📺: @wsoctv
📻: @997TheFox
📲 : In-market in the Panthers app#HOUvsCAR pic.twitter.com/UZEbmWwwBv
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 29, 2026

Jeremiah Moon with the strip, Cam Gill with the snag!

📲: NFL+#HOUvsCAR pic.twitter.com/k8dVwIjZiR
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 29, 2026

Gill has been on and off NFL rosters since signing with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent and winning Super Bowl LV with the club. This past February, he signed with the UFL’s Louisville Kings and proceeded to put together a monster season, winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year after setting the single-season sack record with 10, and helping the team win their first-ever United Bowl title. The 28-year-old is now in as good a position as ever to stick around in the big leagues.

On top of his three fumble recoveries, Gill has also totaled 10 tackles and a sack across Carolina’s four preseason bouts—which included the 2026 Hall of Fame Game.

Faller: Patriots’ overall depth

Mike Vrabel made headlines last weekend after he called out the Patriots’ roster for its lack of depth. Thursday’s matchup against the Browns more than validated his point.

In their 37–13 loss in Cleveland, New England’s backup defenders not only let Gabriel light them up through the air—with Charles Woods and Kindle Vildor struggling in their competition for the team’s fourth cornerback spot—but also allowed 166 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

“Not good enough,” Vrabel said of the Patriots’ defensive performance on Thursday. “... We got a couple sudden change stops, forced them to kick field goals, which I think is always positive. But, I just … not good enough. Couldn’t match the speed of the quarterback in a zone read and some of those things. But we’ll get back to work and figure out who we’re going to get back to work with.”

Additionally, on offense, rookie quarterback Behren Morton threw two interceptions, was sacked three times and posted a quarterback rating of just 44.2—a performance that confirmed DeVito’s stance as the team’s backup to Drake Maye, and may have played him off the roster.

Riser: WR Jalen Tolbert, Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins traded veteran Tutu Atwell to the Rams earlier this week, a move that should, in theory, give the team’s pair of rookie wide receivers in Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas more chances to shine.

Jalen Tolbert said not so fast.

In Miami’s loss to the Falcons on Friday, the 27-year-old hauled in three catches for 27 yards—including a leaping, 19-yard first-down conversion that would eventually lead to a Dolphins touchdown.

Jalen Tolbert WENT UP for this catch 🔥

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— NFL (@NFL) August 28, 2026

Tolbert signed a one-year contract with Miami this offseason after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Cowboys. His chances of making the roster got far easier this week after the Atwell trade, and his performances against Atlanta only strengthened his case.

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