Image Credit: (Samantha Madar/USA Today Sports)
Written by: Nicholas Mullick Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-mullick-354076184/
Twitter: @nicholasmullick
Welcome to another article in my writing series that I call The Stunning Cut. This is a series where I look at cuts in the preseason or in the regular season that stunned many when the news was released. For this one, I decided to go for a player that many have either not recognized or heard of before. His name is CB Ka’Dar Hollman and while he may have no name I did a little bit of research on him and his tenure as a Texan along with his cut is super stunning and we will get to why later in this article.
Who is Ka'Dar Hollman?
Ka’Dar Hollman is a football player who played the cornerback position. When he entered the NCAA he actually was a no-star prospect. He actually was a walk-on in college football when he went to the University of Toledo. He worked his way from the bottom to the top and he had a solid career. However, he only had 2 interceptions throughout his time in the NCAA. Many projected him to be undrafted, but he actually did get drafted in the 6th round, 185th overall, in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. You have to admit for a guy that was a walk-on in college to being drafted is a great accomplishment and I give kudos to Hollman.
In his rookie season, Hollman did not do too much as the secondary was getting crowded. Besides being a late-round pick, he needed a bit more development time before being utilized. The next season came and he played in 14 games and even started one week. He finished the season with 10 tackles and 3 pass deflections. While it was not great, it was still better than last year as now he has more snaps on the field. 2021 was a big year for him to finally showcase his skills during training camp and in the preseason. He was absolutely on the roster bubble, and that can’t be denied.
But the Packers during the 2021 season decided to move on from Hollman and were moved to the Houston Texans. It was a change of scenery and provided a big opportunity as the Texans secondary was terrible and needed cornerback help desperately. The team was tanking for a higher draft pick and were going nowhere. The Texans could have easily given him more opportunities to showcase his skills as every position on this defense was open. Unfortunately for Hollman, that did not happen.
The Day He Got Cut
It was the final cut day during the 2021 preseason and while reading the list his name popped up, I was shocked and stunned at this. So why is this stunning you ask? Well, the Texans actually not even a week ago acquired him via trade and they gave up a draft pick to get him. I don’t want to hear that it was only a 7th-round pick because the Texans are in a rebuild and they need every draft pick to help build the team and they basically wasted a draft pick for a player that did not even last 7 days. That is just poor asset management and it is stunning that the Texans would do this. Then again it's astonishing how Jack Easterby is still a part of the Texans organization. I still need an explanation as to why.
The Aftermath of Getting Cut
So, once the Texans made yet another head-scratching move by releasing a player they just acquired via trade. He would sign with the New Orleans Saints practice squad but would be let go at the end of the month of September. He would join the New York Giants the next week but was on the practice squad and he suffered an injury. He would join the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason and still is a part of their roster today. He is still fighting for a roster spot today. I just finished watching a film of their latest preseason victory against the Green Bay Packers and Hollman wasn’t great, but he showed moments of brilliance on defense. On special teams, he did a decent job as well. If he can play more consistently, then he could make a roster spot. It will be a wait-and-see for what happens next with Hollman, but I wish him luck.