Breaking down NFL practice squad rules and eligibility.
Before we get into current practice squad rules, it’s worth noting the difference between being waived and released.
Players with less than four years of experience are waived, therefore subject to waivers, and can be claimed by other teams during a 24-hour period. If a player goes unclaimed in that span, he becomes an unrestricted free agent (UFA).
Players with four or more accrued NFL seasons are released and become free agents (FA). Therefore, they are not subject to the waiver period and can sign immediately with any team.
Teams have from 4 p.m. Saturday to noon Sunday to submit a claim for a waived player. Once that deadline passes, claims are executed based on the priority of which teams submitted them. The 2019 final standings set priority; teams with worse records (Arizona, Washington, Carolina, Detroit) have higher priority. Players are awarded to teams beginning at 1 p.m.
Practice squad
The practice squad (PS) is critical to any NFL team. If a player on the 53-man roster goes down, teams must have a solid group from which to pluck another player. Generally, it’s of the position the team just lost, but that’s not always the case.
There are some changes to the rules and eligibility of practice squads in 2020. Not only because of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed in March but because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the CBA was ratified, the league and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) agreed to increase the size of the PS rosters from 10 to 12 players for 2020 (it will increase to 14 in 2022).
The CBA was agreed upon before the pandemic struck. So, to combat inevitable positive COVID test results, the league expanded PS rosters from 12 to 16 players.
An hour after that waiver claiming period ends (1 p.m. Sunday), teams will begin constructing their 16-player practice squads. Teams can protect four PS players weekly and can activate two PS players to the 55-man roster without having to clear waivers to revert to PS. It’s likely the protection allowance will only be permitted in 2020. An unprotected player is free to sign with another team, and there are no practice squad-to-practice squad transactions.
Here are rules for players to be eligible for the practice squad, according to Sporting News:
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Players who do not have an accrued season of NFL experience (rookies)
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Players who were on the active list for fewer than nine regular-season games during their only accrued season(s)
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Up to four players per team who have earned no more than two accrued seasons (no game limitations)
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Up to two (six in 2020) players per team with no limitations as to their number of earned accrued seasons
Injured reserve
Injured reserve (IR) could also impact roster decisions. Previously, players placed on IR with a designation to return had to be sidelined for at least eight weeks. Now, players can return after three weeks, and teams can activate an unlimited number of players from IR. As it relates to cut-downs, however, a player must be named to the 53-man roster before he can be placed on IR.
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