Dan Pompei

Hope still exists for the approximately 864 players who were tapped on the shoulder by “The Turk” this week and being asked to bring their playbooks to their coaches’ offices.

Their football dreams are being dealt a blow, no question. But for many of them, it need not be a death blow.

There still is the hope of being picked up by another team. Or, in some cases, being picked up again by their own team. Or being asked to be one of the league’s 256 practice squad players. Or even playing in another league.

The NFL is brimming with players who know what it feels like to get cut this time of year. Among the stars who have felt the burn are Rams quarterback Marc Bulger, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, Packers cornerback Al Harris, Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Broncos center Casey Wiegmann.

So players who are cut need not despair after packing their belongings in garbage bags and heading home. In most cases, these players would be best advised to keep plugging away.

“You have to go home and hope the phone rings,” said Bears kicker Robbie Gould, who was cut by the Patriots during the 2005 preseason and eventually was picked up in Chicago. “You hope you have enough game film to show teams you can play, either on their practice squad or even on their 53 man roster. You work out, you do the same things you do when you were there. You keep yourself in the best possible shape so you are ready to go if you get called.”

Not that going through the process is easy.

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“You don’t get angry, but you get emotional,” Gould says. “You’ve been here so long, you get comfortable. Then you have no idea what’s next. Will I get an opportunity to play again? Will I get another chance to compete? Will I have to go through another situation like this? It’s very emotional because this has been your dream forever.”

It can be emotional from the other side of the desk, too. NFL coaches typically call cutdown day the worst day of the season, and many are known to walk around all day with long faces and glum dispositions.

“It’s tough,” said former Chiefs and Jets coach Herm Edwards, now an analyst for ESPN. “It’s really tough when you have to cut the veteran guy who has been in the league nine or 10 years. You’d like to cut those guys early because the likelihood of them getting picked up is greater. When you cut one of those guys late, it’s tough for them unless injuries happen.”

Edwards remembers having to cut Jets linebacker Marvin Jones. Jones was an established veteran who was popular in the locker room and in the community, so it was an uncomfortable situation.

The good thing, according to Edwards, is players like Jones usually see the handwriting on the chalkboard. “Marvin knew I was going to go young,” he said. “At the end, players like him are like, ‘OK, coach, I got you.’ They know what’s happening. They know the direction of the team.”

Often, they know what’s happening because they have initiated conversations with the coaches or general managers previously, or their agents have.

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During training camp, coaches have to walk a fine line between discouraging a player who is on the chopping block and being real with them. They don’t want to mislead a player, many of whom have family considerations and housing arrangements to deal with.

“The player just wants to know the truth,” Edwards said.

Even if the truth hurts.