Every NFL roster is down to 53 active players, and several high-quality veterans are freshly unemployed. Most will likely be snapped up soon, but those new free agents will also be competing with lingering free agents for jobs. 

Let's take stock of them all. 

Based on recent production, career trajectory and durability, here's a rundown of the top eight players on the open market following cutdown day. 

LB Todd Davis

Todd Davis might not be a star, but you know what you're getting from the 28-year-old linebacker.

The Denver Broncos' 11th-hour cut has started all but five of the team's last 64 games, and he was on the field for a career-high 85 percent of Denver's defensive snaps in 2019. Davis racked up 134 tackles last season, and that came a year after he recorded seven passes defensed along with 114 tackles. 

At 28 he should have plenty of gas left in the tank. He's been fighting back from a calf injury, and Denver was able to save $4.5 million by shifting the focus entirely to Josey Jewell and Alexander Johnson at the inside linebacker positions. 

Davis will likely land a one-year deal with somebody in need of reliable talent and experience off the ball at linebacker. 

WR Mohamed Sanu

By releasing him last week, the New England Patriots essentially signaled that they wasted a second-round pick on veteran wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. That's unfortunate for the 31-year-old because so many teams follow New England's lead. 

Still, Sanu is only two years removed from an 838-yard, four-touchdown campaign with the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he passed the 650-yard mark three times in as many complete seasons. He was a key member of the 2016 team that dominated offensively en route to the Super Bowl, and somebody is likely to find value in that resume. 

The Patriots didn't shed much light on why they gave up on Sanu just half a season into his tenure there, and it's not ideal that he's likely beyond his prime at 31. But we likely haven't seen the last of an established pass-catcher with 92 career starts under his belt. 

CB Prince Amukamara

Like Sanu, Prince Amukamara is a 31-year-old with between 90 and 100 career starts (99) coming off a short run with a team that obviously didn't feel he fit. That'll have to be Amukamara's explanation to prospective teams on the open market, because it's not as though the Las Vegas Raiders were flush with alternative options at cornerback. 

Prior to joining the Raiders for a large chunk of the 2020 offseason, Amukamara started 42 of a possible 48 games with the Chicago Bears. The 2011 first-round pick has never been a Pro Bowler, but he intercepted three passes in 2018, surrendered just two passing touchdowns in coverage last year and has registered 22 passes defensed since the start of 2018. 

He'll present obvious value to anyone in search of more leadership and experience in the secondary. 

S Earl Thomas

The Baltimore Ravens are so loaded with talent that they arguably had the luxury of being able to release potential Hall of Fame safety Earl Thomas amid concerns unrelated to his football abilities. But somebody more desperate will eventually decide that the three-time first-team All-Pro is worth the risk. 

Thomas is 31 and beyond his prime, but safeties often age well and he still made the Pro Bowl with two picks, two sacks, four passes defensed, six quarterback hits and 49 tackles in 15 starts last season.

And while injuries held him back in his last few seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, he made five consecutive Pro Bowls without missing a start between 2011 and 2015. 

Somebody will value his supreme skill set along with his Super Bowl experience and look past the fact that the Ravens decided it wasn't worth the apparent headache. 

LB Clay Matthews

Each of the six Pro Bowls on Clay Matthews' resume were earned before the 2016 season, so it's safe to say he's no longer the player he was in his prime. The 34-year-old 2009 first-round pick played just 56 percent of the defensive snaps for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. 

But that doesn't mean a fiery, experienced former star like Matthews can't contribute in a specialized pass-rushing role in 2020. Matthews quietly recorded eight sacks while forcing a pair of fumbles in just 13 games with the Los Angeles Rams last season. 

He's been linked to the Seahawks, who could use pass-rushing help in lieu of Jadeveon Clowney. Whether he lands in Seattle or elsewhere, it shouldn't be long.

S Eric Reid

Eric Reid often struggled immensely in coverage for the Carolina Panthers in 2019, but that could have been a fluke. It wasn't the case at all in 2018, and while none of his 11 career interceptions came last season, the 2013 first-round pick out of LSU recorded four sacks and 130 tackles. 

The 28-year-old former Pro Bowler's unemployment could be tied to that of Colin Kaepernick, who by all indications has been blackballed as a result of being the poster child for player protests against police brutality and racial inequality. Reid and Kaepernick are tight, and this is the second time Reid has inexplicably lingered for longer than expected on the free-agent market. 

Still, the Panthers gave him a shot, and it didn't appear to cost them dearly off the field. Plus, those protests have received significant support, and the NFL itself has finally begun to embrace causes related to Kaepernick and Reid's. That could help, as should the fact that the safety can simply ball.

CB Sidney Jones

This is mainly about Sidney Jones' potential. The 24-year-old recent Philadelphia Eagles cut was a second-round pick just three years ago.

He couldn't stay healthy in those three years and often struggled enough on the field that he lost a numbers game in a deep Philly secondary, but he's fast, athletic, long and physical and has the skill set to grow into a starting role in the right setting.

For what it's worth, he intercepted two passes and recorded eight passes defensed despite playing just 29 percent of Philly's defensive snaps in 2019. He also gave up completions on fewer than 52 percent of the passes thrown his way for an opposing passer rating of just 67.9. 

At a premium position, that makes him worthy of a flier. 

DT Marcell Dareus

It appears Marcell Dareus' prime came in his mid-20s when he was a Pro Bowler in 2013 and 2014 and a first-team All-Pro in 2014, and the veteran defensive tackle is on the wrong side of 30 now.

But the 2011 No. 3 overall pick was a 15-game starter and an impact player with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018. He's coming off a core muscle injury that cost him the majority of the 2019 campaign and is now lingering as a free agent after the team declined an expensive option in February. 

Still, he's a remarkably talented player with the pass-rushing chops to play a unique specialized role inside. He reportedly got some attention from the Seahawks last month but hasn't signed anywhere yet. It shouldn't be long, though.