Article content

Every time there was a knock on the door, Daved Benefield thought he was about to be cut.

And every time it turned out to be news he was losing a roommate.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Bighill, Zaruba hope they're not D-Day rubble from the NFL bubble Back to video

“I couldn’t keep a roommate ’cause they kept getting cut,” he said Thursday with a laugh.

Saturday is cut-down day in the National Football League, when teams have to make decisions on which 90 players in training camp will form the 53-man regular-season roster — and which five will keep fighting for their dream on the practice squad.

Benefield survived to make the regular season roster with the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, a one-year NFL experience book-ended by many years in the CFL.

Two players with B.C. connections — former B.C. Lions linebacker Adam Bighill and former Canadian rugby sevens star Adam Zaruba — are on that bubble this year.

“It can be really nerve-wracking because you’ve invested a lot of time,” Benefield said of being cut. “You’re wondering did you do everything you could, did they like you enough.”