Estrada cut by 49ers, Fitzpatrick traded

As the preseason came to a close this weekend, and the pink slips hit the lockers, Penn guard Sean Estrada saw his plans of playing on an NFL roster temporarily put on hold.

Estrada couldn't beat out backup center Tony Wragge, who has NFL game experience (started four games), unlike the undrafted rookie Estrada. The former Penn guard does, however, have a chance to get signed by another team, or more likely get signed to the 49ers' or another team's practice squad.

If he made the practice squad, Estrada would get paid a good amount for practicing three days a week. Not a bad job. Any player can be on the practice squad two years before having to join the big boys, or get cut for good.

All-time yards-leading Ivy running back Clifton Dawson also saw the same fate, getting released by the Indianapolis Colts - a team that didn't have a very strong pool of runners - and as a result only kept three.

Few undrafted free agents make the 53-man roster as a rookie -- the Eagles are one of the teams that retains the most players of this kind, and impressive cornerback Nick Graham was the only player for them who made the final cut.

On a brighter note for the Ivy League, former Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (a seventh-round pick in 2005 by St. Louis) got traded to Cincinnati for a conditional draft pick.

He hasn't thrown a pass since starting three games for injured Rams starter Mark Bulger two years ago, where he threw for four touchdowns and eight interceptions (bad, but not bad for a rookie, especially in a complex offense). The Bengals must have a good deal of confidence in their new second-string quarterback. He did, however, look sharp in his last preseason game, going 12 for 18 for 105 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions.