The Detroit Lions announced they have elevated tight end Isaac Nauta from the practice squad to the active roster for Week 7.
This is the second time in as many weeks Nauta has found his way onto the 53-man roster, playing 18 snaps on offense in Week 6 with no statistical production — which isn’t overly surprising as he is mainly utilized in a blocking capacity.
Being able to elevate a practice squad player to the active roster is a new rule for 2020, due to COVID-19, but there are some important details to keep in mind.
After Nauta plays in the game on Sunday, he will then revert back to the Lions practice squad without having to clear waivers. But moving forward, if the Lions wish to elevate him to the active roster again, the rule has some stipulations:
“No player may be activated under this rule for more than two games per season, either regular-season or postseason games,” per ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “If a player has already been elevated twice under this rule, and the team wants to add him to the roster, it must terminate his practice-squad contract and sign him to an NFL contract, as has been the case with practice-squad players in years past.”
So, while Nauta will return to the practice squad after this week’s game, if the Lions wish to use Nauta in another game this season, he would have to be signed to the active roster.