MISSOULA — Billings native Junior Bergen and Butte's Tommy Mellott were among the players waived Tuesday, as NFL teams trimmed their rosters from 90 players to 53 ahead of the start of the season.
Mellott was waived by the Las Vegas Raiders, who selected the former Montana State Bobcat in the sixth round of April's NFL Draft, and Bergen, the former Montana Grizzly star, was waived by the San Francisco 49ers after the franchise selected him in the seventh round of the NFL Draft.
Both players are now subject to the NFL's waiver system. They can be claimed by any other team in the league and signed to that team's active roster. If they are not claimed, they would be eligible to sign with the practice squad of an NFL team. Each team's practice squad is made up of 16 players, and often includes late-round draft picks and/or developmental players like Mellott and Bergen.
A slew of former Bobcats, as well as Bozeman native Will Dissly, survived cut day to land on initial 53-man rosters. There was no doubt linebacker Alex Singleton would return to the Denver Broncos, but Ty Okada made Seattle's roster as the fifth safety, and defensive lineman Daniel Hardy made Chicago's 53-man roster. Linebacker Troy Andersen is still on Atlanta's physically unable to perform list.
Dissly, a tight end with the Los Angeles Chargers, is in his eighth year in the NFL after the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Washington. After spending the first six years of his pro career with Seattle, Dissly signed with the Chargers prior to last season.
Coming off a career year in 2024 in which he caught 50 passes for 481 yards and two touchdowns, Dissly figures to be an important piece in the Chargers' tight end group in 2025.
Former Bobcats Lance McCutcheon, Rush Reimer (who played his final college season at California) and Sebastian Valdez (who finished at Washington) were let go by Pittsburgh, Buffalo and San Francisco, respectively.
No former Montana Grizzlies appear on a 53-man roster in the NFL. Offensive lineman Dylan Cook and linebacker Patrick O'Connell were let go by Pittsburgh and Seattle, respectively, and Samori Toure, who started his college career at Montana and finished at Nebraska, was also released by Chicago.
Notably, five former Big Sky Conference players are on New England's initial 53-man roster, including undrafted free agents Efton Chism III of Eastern Washington and Elijah Ponder of Cal Poly. Kendrick Bourne, another Eastern Washington product; Christian Elliss, a linebacker from Idaho; and Marte Mapu, a former Sacramento State linebacker, also made the Patriots.
New England placed Lan Larison, who starred at UC Davis, on injured reserve earlier this month.
The NFL season begins Thursday, Sept. 4, when the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys.
Below is a list of players who finished their college careers at Big Sky Conference programs and made the initial 2025 53-man NFL rosters.
Big Sky in the NFL (as of Aug. 26, 2025)
Montana State
Troy Andersen, LB (Atlanta Falcons, PUP); Daniel Hardy, DL (Chicago Bears); Ty Okada, DB (Seattle Seahawks); Alex Singleton, LB (Denver Broncos)
Cal Poly
Elijah Ponder, DL (New England Patriots)
Eastern Washington
Kendrick Bourne, WR (New England Patriots); Efton Chism III, WR (New England Patriots); Samson Ebukam, DL (Indianapolis Colts); Cooper Kupp, WR (Seattle Seahawks)
Idaho
Christian Elliss, LB (New England Patriots); Kaden Elliss, LB (Atlanta Falcons); Hogan Hatten, LS (Detroit Lions)
Idaho State
Tanner Conner, TE (Miami Dolphins)
Northern Arizona
Khalil Dorsey, DB (Detroit Lions)
Northern Colorado
Jacob Bobenmoyer, LS (Las Vegas Raiders)
Sacramento State
DeAndre Carter, WR (Cleveland Browns); Marte Mapu, LB (New England Patriots); Jackson Slater, OL (Tennessee Titans)
Southern Utah
Braxton Jones, OL (Chicago Bears); Miles Killebrew, DB (Pittsburgh Steelers)
UC Davis
Lan Larison, RB (New England Patriots, IR); Daniel Whelan, P (Green Bay Packers)
Weber State
Taron Johnson, DB (Buffalo Bills); Rashid Shaheed, WR (New Orleans Saints)
