NFL teams reduce rosters

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NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Veteran wide receiver Deion Branch and quarterback Josh McCown were two of the big names cut Friday as NFL teams reduced their rosters to 53 players.

With the regular season starting next week, major roster trimming took place throughout the league.

Branch was cut by New England after having spent 11 years in pro football. The first two and the last four were with the Patriots. He has caught 502 passes for 6,499 career yards and 39 touchdowns.

McCown has nine NFL seasons to his credit, the last one having been spent with the Chicago Bears. He started 13 games for Arizona in 2004 and nine games with Oakland in 2007.

McCown threw for 37 touchdowns and was intercepted 44 times.

Other cuts of note:

-- Defensive back D'Anton Lynn by the New York Jets. He is the son of Jets running back coach Anthony Lynn.

-- Quarterback Matt Sims by the Jets. He is the son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.

-- Quarterback Seneca Wallace by Cleveland. Wallace was with Seattle for seven years before playing the last two seasons with Cleveland. He started 21 games in his career.

-- Quarterback Case Keenum by Houston. He came to the Texans as an undrafted free agent after throwing for more than 19,000 yards at the University of Houston, but he lost out in a battle for the No. 3 spot on the Texans' depth chart.

-- Running back Tim Hightower by Washington. He had 523 carries for 2,054 yards in four seasons, the first three with Arizona.