​Former BYU star Chase Roberts lines up for the Las Vegas Raiders against the Houston Texans during a preseason game in Houston, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.
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Maria Lysaker Associated Press
The Grim Reaper will be lurking about on Sunday and for the handful of Cougars looking to make an NFL roster, they would be wise to avoid him. He is merciless on cutdown days when teams are required to reduce their roster to 53 players.“Each team has a Grim Reaper, and you know who they are — a player personnel guy,” former Cougar Harvey Langi told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week. “He gets all the information. He’s the guy that has to come in and lay down the law.”Avoiding such a harrowing visit sometimes requires the same athleticism as it takes to make the team, especially when the Grim Reaper is walking toward you.“Oh! My goodness! You see him (in the hall), I’d throw my playbook in my backpack and say, ‘I’m going home real quick, guys!’” Langi said. “I’ll see you later!”Dodge it as best as you can, but every player knows that if you are on the Grim Reaper’s list, he’ll find you. “Sometimes, during that process, you get back into practice, and you (notice) your buddy’s lockers are cleaned out and they are on their way back to their locker (to find out),” Langi said. “You are like, ‘Dude, this is going to be pretty sad here.’ Boom! Bam! Gone!” Langi made the Patriots 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and he survived long enough to play 44 games over five years with the Patriots, Jets, Broncos and Raiders before injuries took him out. He never received “the call” on cutdown day, but he always feared it was coming — everybody does.“We know how many spots are open. We know how many guys are still here, now let’s see if I’ve done enough to show a value to where they don’t call my phone,” said Langi. “I’d turn my phone up loud, and if that sucker rings, it might ring because it’s my brother asking, ‘Did you hear yet?’ Or my best friend, ‘What happened?’ I’m like, ‘Gosh, guys! Stop calling me! Wait until tomorrow!’ As long as it wasn’t the Grim Reaper, or one of the coaches — usually it’s the Grim Reaper that will call and say, ‘Bring your playbook and meet at the facility.’”High hopesChase Roberts, Mory Bamba, Isaiah Jatta, Carson Ryan, Kedon Slovis, Zach Wilson, Tyler Batty and a handful of other former Cougars hope to avoid getting that call on Sunday and each has one more preseason game to strengthen their case.“You are not (completely) safe until the first game,” said Langi. “But you are pretty safe if you get past the 48- to 72-hour p