Understanding the NFL new roster rules beginning in 2020

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 When the NFL and the NFL Players Association executed its new Collective Bargaining Agreementon March 15, the headline-grabbing provisions included a 17-game regular seasonand an increase in the players cut of league revenuethe biggest part of which will also occur in 2021 https://www.kccprostore.com/5-Kansas_City_Chiefs_Jerseys.But the new deal also changed some of the rules about team rosters and practice squadsand those have generated a lot of confusion among fans.So let go through exactly how the rules have changed, how they have stayed the sameand how the Kansas City Chiefs might use them.The rules that haven changedTeam rosters are still limited to 53 playersand during the season, the salary cap is still based on the contracts of those 53 players.As before, teams may have up 90 players on their roster through the offseason and training camp, but only the top 51 contracts count against the cap.The usual rules about practice-squad players still apply in order to move one to the active roster, another player must be first be removedeither by being placed on a reserve listor being released outright.Once a practice squad player is on the roster, they can only return to the practice squad by first being waivedwhich allows any other team to pick them up from the waiver wire.Once they have cleared waivers, they may be re-signed to a new practice-squad contract.Once elevated to the active roster, practice-squad players must be paid a weekly salaryfor at least three weekseven if they are waived from the roster before then.And if a team chooses to poach a practice-squad player from another team, they must be carried on the new club 53-man roster for at least three weeksand be paid accordingly Eric Fisher Jersey.The rules that have changedPractice squad eligibilityAs youe probably heard, the new CBA allows an expansion of team practice squads from 10 players to 12 in 2020.But eligibility rules have been substantially relaxed.Players who can be on practice squads now fall into four groupsPlayers with less than one accrued NFL season Players who have been on an active roster for fewer than nine regular-season games during their only accrued seasonPlayers who have earned no more than two accrued seasons with any number of gamesPlayers with any number of accrued seasonsIf you think the third and fourth groups are a departure from the old rules Christian Okoye Jersey, youe right.It is.But both of them have a limitation a team may only have four practice-squad players whose eligibility is based on Group 3and only two based on Group 4.Starting in 2022when the squad size increases to 14 playersfour Group 4 layers will be allowed.Wouldn this allow a class of professional practice-squad players to existIn some respects, it wouldparticularly if wee talking about players who have been in the league for a number of years, but who aren quite good enough to be on a team roster.A team might want to have a couple of guys like that on their practice squad to provide veteran leadership and improve roster depth.In the case of the Chiefs, think of players like Anthony Shermanor Daniel Sorensen.If they become cap casualtiesthe Chiefs might consider putting them on their practice squad.Whether or not the Chiefswill choose to make such a move is unknownbut the new rules would allow it.Practice squad payThe 2011 CBA only stated a minimum weekly salary for practice-squad players.Otherwise, teams could pay them whatever they wantedusually so that their players would be less likely to be poached https://www.kccprostore.com/50-Zach_Fulton_Jerseys.As recently as last season, the New England Patriotsreportedly paid a practice-squad player the minimum active roster salary to keep them from being poached. The only limitation on practice-squad salaries was that they counted against the salary capand they still do.But the new CBA eliminates unlimited practice-squad salaries.All practice-squad players are paid a fixed weekly salary established under the CBAexcept for Group 4 players, for whom the CBA establishes a minimum and maximum salary.In 2020, both are $12,000 for Group 4; all other practice-squad players will be paid $8,400 per week.In 2022, the Group 4 salaries must be between $15,400 and $19,900, while all others will be paid $11,500.Practice squad elevationAs noted before Frankie Hammond Jersey, the normal rules about moving a player from the practice squad to the active roster remain in place.But the new CBA adds an alternative method called the Standard Elevation Addendum .In many news articles about the CBA, brief descriptions of the SEA have led to a misconception that NFL rosters were increasing to 55 playersbut this isn the case.The SEA has its roots in the 2011 CBA Contagious Disease Addendum . This provision allowed a team that had been granted a roster exemption because one of its players had been infected with a contagious disease to easilyelevate a practice-squad player for a game.The player would be paid 1 17 of the appropriate NFL minimum salary for the gameand afterward, would automatically be returned to the practice squad.There was no requirement that they be paid as a regular player for three weeksor pass through the waiver system before returning.The new SEA does exactly the same thingexcept that no doctor noteis required; teams may use it for any reason they wish. It may be used on as many as two practice-squad players per game.But both the SEA and the CDAhave a significant catch they may not be applied to the same player for consecutive games.If a team wishes to make the practice-squad player available for the next game, the CBA requires that it ust follow all of the established procedures for signing a practice squad player to an NFL player contract in other words, do it the old-fashioned way.There is one other wrinkle to the SEAone that is not shared by the older CDA it may be used only twice per season on an individual player.Any other elevation of that player to the active roster must be done using the stablished procedures.e don know how often teams will opt to use the SEA.But it not hard to imagine where it could be useful.Let say Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward is nursing a hamstring injury.He might be able to play on Sunday, but you think hel be ready to play a week later.Using the SEA to make a practice-squad corner available to play in the coming game makes it easier to make a game-day decision that allows Ward to rest for another week.The game-day rosterUnder the 2011 CBA, teams were allowed to dress 46 players from their 53-man roster for a game.Under the new deal, they can dress 47.They can also dress a 48th playeras long as the game-day roster includes at least eight offensive linemen. But as wee seen, they can choose not just from their active roster, but also from designated practice-squad playersup to two from applications of the SEA, and perhaps more from CDA designations.But why do offensive linemen get an extra roster spotIt is believed to be because of the way the modern game is being played.To keep them fresh, defensive linemen are routinely rotated in and out of the lineup.Offensive linemen, however, tend to be a static group of players who are on the field for every offensive snap. This has led to most teams making just seven offensive linemen active on game daysmeaning that after just two injuries on the offensive front, no one is available in the event of a third injury.Last season, the Chiefs had at least two offensive linemen inactive for every single game.In about half of the games, three were inactiveand in one game, four didn dress. It a safe bet that the Chiefs will opt to dress a 48th player on game days.