By John Clayton
One of the fascinating parts of the post cutdown period is watching teams trying to fill needs right before the season starts.
On Sunday, half the league -- 16 teams -- received waiver claims on young players who were cut on Saturday. Overall, 30 of 35 players who were claimed went to different teams, with the Bengals and the Panthers leading the way with three waiver claims apiece.
Check out all the NFL transactions as they cross the wire. Teams had to make their final roster cuts Saturday to reach the mandatory limit of 53 players. Transactions
The big winner of the day might have been the Bengals. They lost out on a waiver claim on fourth-round choice Antonio Pittman, a Saints running back who was released. He went to the Rams who had a priority position in the claiming system because of their record in a tiebreaker. Both teams finished 8-8 last year.
Instead, the Bengals received undrafted Harvard halfback Clifton Dawson from the Colts. The Bengals needed a backup runner because of injuries to backups Kenny Irons and Chris Perry. The Bengals added depth on defense. They claimed cornerback David Jones, a fifth-round choice of the Saints, and linebacker Anthony Schlegel from the Jets.
Schegel might be the best choice. He comes to a depleted Bengals linebacking crops.
The Panthers tried to fill a few backup needs. They beat out the Chiefs for Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore, who was cut by the Cowboys, They put tight end Michael Gaines on injured reserve and added Marcus Freeman, a tight end cut by Baltimore. They shuffled their backup offensive line by claiming tackle Frank Omiyale of the Falcons and releasing two former draft choices -- Rashad Butler and Will Montgomery.
The Packers were active in the fullback market. They put in claims for John Kuhn of the Steelers, Lousaka Polite of the Cowboys and Derek Schouman of the Bills. From those three, the Packers chose Kuhn.
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