The practice squad is a lot more important in 2020. 

Because of the uncertain ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, any player could be knocked out for a considerable amount of time, meaning teams would have to scramble to find replacements. Typically, teams look to free agency or trades to fill gaps, but they can also sign players off another team’s practice squad if they deem him talented enough for their roster.

But with the uncertainty of how, when or whom the virus will affect, the NFL and NFLPA agreed that teams can protect up to four practice squad players each week from poaching, according to The Washington Post’s Mark Maske. Not only that, but teams can also now add 16 players to the practice squad – up from 10 this past season –  and six players can have an unlimited number of accrued seasons, according to The Athletic’s Lindsay Jones.

So when the Jets look at their protected players, they’ll need to identify two attributes: Which players are the most talented/have the most potential and which players play a position the Jets may need a contingency plan for injuries strike. Ideally, all four players would accomplish both goals for the Jets, but that’s a tall order to fill with a limited number of protected spots.

With these new rules in mind, let’s take a look at six candidates for the protected practice squad status.

QB David Fales

We’ve already talked about how Fales is the Jets’ best quarantine quarterback option, so it only makes sense he should be considered for the protected player slot. If anything happens to Sam Darnold this season, the Jets need an immediate quarterback available to play. Currently, they don’t have that behind Darnold. Joe Flacco won’t be ready for the start of the season as he recovers from injury and rookie James Morgan is still a work in progress.

While Fales isn’t a great option as an emergency quarterback, he does have experience in Adam Gase’s system and would be able to start in a pinch if the Jets lose Darnold for whatever reason. It wouldn’t be pretty, but it would be better than nothing.