Keith Davis cut; several starters' spots confirmed

With just one preseason game remaining in order to evaluate the players on the roster, the team made an early decision that it won't be needing S Keith Davis. According to the team's site, Davis was released on Wednesday.

This move is a bit surprising since Davis was brought in as a free agent by this regime from Dallas and he was both a special teams ace and the team's top backup strong safety. The move may be a hint that the coaching staff likes what it has seen from Renaldo Hill in his recovery from knee surgery and feels that he can play backup at both safety positions.

In that same article on the team's site, it says that several players have already locked up a spot on the 53-man roster:

So far, the only sure bets that have been confirmed by Sparano as starters for the Sept. 7 opener against the New York Jets are ninth-year veteran quarterback Chad Pennington, wide receivers Ted Ginn, Jr. and Derek Hagan, tight ends Anthony Fasano and David Martin, offensive linemen Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Samson Satele, Donald Thomas and Vernon Carey, kicker Dan Carpenter, punter Brandon Fields, long snapper John Denney, defensive linemen Kendall Langford, Jason Ferguson and Vonnie Holliday, linebackers Channing Crowder and Akin Ayodele, cornerbacks Will Allen and Andre Goodman and safety Yeremiah Bell.

No surprises there, of course.