Understanding NFL roster rules changes for 2020 (1 Viewer)

superchuck500

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The new roster rules are confusing as hell, but here's how they work:

- Rosters are still technically set at 53. This means the final roster cut will be 53 players, which will be by 4 p.m. (EDT) on September 5, 2020.

- Practice Squad is 12 players, expanded from 10. Each week, a team can call up two PS players to the roster, effectively expanding the roster to 55 during the season. This means that those promoted PS players will be eligible for the gameday active roster. EDIT - Any single PS player can only be "elevated" to the roster two times in a season.

- Gameday active rosters will be 48 instead of 46. But one of the two additional spots must be filled by an OL.


So what does this mean? First, it means that cut down day won't be 55 players, like many are suggesting. But with the expanded PS size and eligibility to play, teams are going to be very active in their PS recruiting and signing. It's going to be a very interesting.

It also means that the transaction wire during the week (moving of players up and down from the practice squad) will be much more active. And with the expanded options for PS players to make gameday active rosters, it might give more opportunity to see these guys play. EDIT - Note that it appears PS players can still be poached by another team's primary 53-man roster, even when "elevated" to the roster for a game.

Rosters are going to be very interesting in 2020.



 
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So, a team could pull a guy up from the practice squad for a couple weeks in a row to get some playing time. Then, if they don’t pull the same guy up the third week, another team could steal him for their active roster? That could really be crazy this year.
Teams could get much better views of PS players and their could be a lot of poaching.
 
So, a team could pull a guy up from the practice squad for a couple weeks in a row to get some playing time. Then, if they don’t pull the same guy up the third week, another team could steal him for their active roster? That could really be crazy this year.
Teams could get much better views of PS players and their could be a lot of poaching.

Yes, that could happen. I bet it still won’t be that common for PS players to get much playing time - but it’s certainly more likely.

Aggressive teams will be monitoring for poach opportunities.
 
Those extra two bodies on the active game day roster will be a big help. Glad they upped that a bit.
 
So, can an activated PS player still be poached if he is not on the 53?
 
So, can an activated PS player still be poached if he is not on the 53?

So I think I may have been wrong about that in the OP (I have since corrected it). It looks like the player will remain in PS eligibility even while "elevated" for a game. So I think he can still be poached

From the CBA Article 33 Section 5:

(n) If a player is elevated to a Club’s Active/Inactive List pursuant to this Sec- tion 5, and the Club chooses to add the player to its 53-player Active/Inactive List following the game for which the player was activated, the Club must follow all of the established procedures for signing a Practice Squad player to an NFL Player Contract (in- cluding making room for that player on the Club’s 53-player Active/Inactive List).

 
Still makes absolutely no sense to not have every player active on gameday.
You have to look at it as a 46 man roster with 7 extra slots. That way if the Saints have a bunch of injuries, for instance, but the Falcons have a 53 healthy players, it levels the playing field. You don't have one team with 53 healthy players to sub in/out and the other team with only 46 and 7 playing hurt.
 
You have to look at it as a 46 man roster with 7 extra slots. That way if the Saints have a bunch of injuries, for instance, but the Falcons have a 53 healthy players, it levels the playing field. You don't have one team with 53 healthy players to sub in/out and the other team with only 46 and 7 playing hurt.
This happens every week now in the NFL . Guys get hurt in every game and and say you only activate 7 Offensive linemen for a game and 4 get hurt all of a sudden a D lineman is playing iron man football.

We have been on the short end of the stick on injuries in a game where people had to play out of their postion so I don't see what the difference is.

Honestly with the new bargaining agreement they should have increased the number short term IR designations. They are treating the two Practice squad as a MLB call up, so why not increase the IR.
 
So I think I may have been wrong about that in the OP (I have since corrected it). It looks like the player will remain in PS eligibility even while "elevated" for a game. So I think he can still be poached

From the CBA Article 33 Section 5:




If I’m understanding correctly, there’s basically two inactive roster lists on gameday and two different set of rules for the 53 and 55 man rosters. Sounds like the 54th and 55th aren’t permanently apart of the roster like the 53 are

There’s a season eligible-active 53 of 55, then a gameday-active 46 of the 53. The extra 2 slots for the 55 is for Practice Squad only, and can’t be used for signing veteran free agents? And so the two extra slots are only game by game in the first few weeks for the individual players before the team is required to put them in the 53 after 3 games, instead of being permanently apart of the roster as the 54th and 55th players
 
I got it now so the 54th and 55th players are still apart of the Practice Squad list, but designated differently from the rest of the PS and are eligible to be active on gameday.

I wonder if they get paid the veteran minimum, instead of PS pay, while they’re the 54th and 55th players
 
If I’m understanding correctly, there’s basically two inactive roster lists on gameday and two different set of rules for the 53 and 55 man rosters. Sounds like the 54th and 55th aren’t permanently apart of the roster like the 53 are

There’s a season eligible-active 53 of 55, then a gameday-active 46 of the 53. The extra 2 slots for the 55 is for Practice Squad only, and can’t be used for signing veteran free agents? And so the two extra slots are only game by game in the first few weeks for the individual players before the team is required to put them in the 53 after 3 games, instead of being permanently apart of the roster as the 54th and 55th players

Yes, it becomes semantic in how you describe it - but basically there’s a gameday roster of up to 48 active, provided one of them is an OL.

It seems silly to “elevate” a PS player just to have him inactive - but that might happen if there are injuries that are game-time decisions. But if a team has elevated PS players, their gameday roster can be up to 55, but only 48 can be active (with the OL requirement).

No PA player can be elevated more than twice. And being elevated doesn’t change PS status.
 

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