Practice Squad rules and information

[theProf]

Each NFL team may keep up to eight members on its "practice squad" in addition to the 53-member main roster. Additionally, the NFL has a program through which foreign players may be assigned to teams' practice squads, called the International Practice Squad Program. Thus, in some years a team might have 9 players on the practice squad, if one of the players is an assigned "foreign" player. Several years back the Falcons did have a 9-member practice squad that included an assigned foreign player, but I have forgotten the foreign players name.

"The brand new CBA has clarified a lot of the language in the previous version, and the practice squad section is no exception. The rules havent changed, but they are expressed more clearly than they were before:

The Practice Squad shall consist of the following players, provided that they have not served more than two previous seasons on a Practice Squad:

(i) players who do NOT have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and

(ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s).

(iii) An otherwise eligible player may be a Practice Squad player for a third season only if the Club by which he is employed that season has at least 53 players on its Active/Inactive List during the entire period of his employment."

http://philly.sportscolumn.com/showthread.php?p=190227

I don't know for sure if the 3 year exception would apply to OL Jose Valdez and LB Robert James, who have been on the Falcons practice squad the two previous years, but I think it certainly might. I don't recall the Falcons ever going below a 53-man roster during the past two seasons. If a Falcons player was place on IR, there was always another player immediately activated to the 53-man roster.

Practice squad players practice alongside regular roster players during the week, but they are not allowed to play in actual games while on the practice squad. They can be paid considerably less than active squad players: The minimum salary for a practice squad player in 2011 is $5,700 per week (up from $5,200 per week) for 17 weeks, or $96,900 per season, in comparison to the NFL minimum salary of $375,000 (up from $330,000) for a rookie on the 53-man roster. Teams may choose to pay them more than the minimum practice squad salary if they'd like, but that doesn't usually happen. The practice squad players will also get small signing bonuses, usually in the area of a couple thousand bucks.

"There are some important things to know about practice squad players during the NFL regular season so I'm just going to list them:

Practice squad players are always free agents, meaning any NFL team can sign them away from another team. The catch with this? A team can't sign a player one week before they play that team and the team that signs a practice squad player must count that player against their 53-man active roster for at least three weeks, bye weeks included. This is even if the player is released after one week - they still count as a spot on the roster.

Players that are promoted internally from the practice squad to the active roster must remain there for three weeks and get paid the minimum salary for their status (rookie or veteran). If they are let go for some reason before the three weeks are up, they are still paid for those three full weeks."

http://www.milehighreport.com/2010/8/26/1649757/countdown-to-cutdown-nfl-practice

[Geneaut]

Didn't Kinoshita the WR from Japan participate in the foreign player program a few years ago. I think he could practice, but he didn't count against our roster as long as we didn't put him on the 53.

[theProf]

Didn't Kinoshita the WR from Japan participate in the foreign player program a few years ago. I think he could practice, but he didn't count against our roster as long as we didn't put him on the 53.

You are correct.

"Atlanta Falcons On June 28, Kinoshita signed with his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, and competed throughout training camp for a roster spot. "I am very excited to compete at the Falcons' training camp with other great players," says Kinoshita. "It is exciting as a Japanese player to compete with American players, and I want to appeal to the fans in Atlanta. At the same time, I want to show the Japanese people how exciting the great game of football is." He was released by the Falcons at the end of training camp.[9]

On July 23, 2008, Kinoshita was assigned to the Falcons as an International Practice Squad player.[9] Kinoshita is the only Japanese player of the 16 international players to sign onto NFL practice squads."[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noriaki_Kinoshita

[theProf]

You are correct.

"Atlanta Falcons On June 28, Kinoshita signed with his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, and competed throughout training camp for a roster spot. "I am very excited to compete at the Falcons' training camp with other great players," says Kinoshita. "It is exciting as a Japanese player to compete with American players, and I want to appeal to the fans in Atlanta. At the same time, I want to show the Japanese people how exciting the great game of football is." He was released by the Falcons at the end of training camp.[9]

On July 23, 2008, Kinoshita was assigned to the Falcons as an International Practice Squad player.[9] Kinoshita is the only Japanese player of the 16 international players to sign onto NFL practice squads."[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noriaki_Kinoshita

I was thinking that the Falcons have also had an International DE asigned to its practice squad roster. Finally found him as follows:

"Falcons | Alinen on Practice Squad

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 15:38:42 -0700

AtlantaFalcons.com reports Atlanta Falcons DL Klaus Alinen will become the ninth member of the Falcons practice squad as part of the NFL International Development Practice Squad program."

Read more: http://www.kffl.com/player/12709/NFL#ixzz1Wd2sOzeM

[Geneaut]

I was thinking that the Falcons have also had an International DE asigned to its practice squad roster. Finally found him as follows:

"Falcons | Alinen on Practice Squad

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 15:38:42 -0700

AtlantaFalcons.com reports Atlanta Falcons DL Klaus Alinen will become the ninth member of the Falcons practice squad as part of the NFL International Development Practice Squad program."

Read more: http://www.kffl.com/player/12709/NFL#ixzz1Wd2sOzeM

Didn't we have a TE from overseas a number of years ago? He might have been an actual roster guy from NFL Europe.

[delaigle]

Ok let's guess

2009/2010 PS

OL Valdez

C Bruggeman

LB James

2010 PS

WR Strickland

WR Harvey

DE Stephens

TE Branson

2011 Top candidates ??? my guess

Walls

Woods

Tripp

Hansen

Cox

NAME YOURS

name the 8 you think make it

my GUESS Valdez(?) , Stephens, Harvey, Strickland, Walls, Woods, Hansen, Last a player from another team

[Romfal]

with us signing James Sanders I think Bush is a good candidate for PS.

[Finally]

I don't get why they care how long a player is on the PS.

[Geneaut]

I don't get why they care how long a player is on the PS.

Especially since any team can sign them away. It's not like you can stash a guy there forever and protect him.

[ukfalc]

I thought that International Practice Squad programme was scrapped a year or two ago, but I could well be mistaken.

[FalconFanSince1970]

Klaus.

Man yall know how much I like good names.

I hope buddy can find his way on to the squad. With all the injuries on the Dline he might have a chance.

Imagine if we had an as beater on the Dline named Klaus Alinen. We could call him Klaus Alien or just Klaus, which reminds me of Claude or Zook. Good names. Good players.

[Finally]

Especially since any team can sign them away. It's not like you can stash a guy there forever and protect him.

Once we have invested coaching time into a player it would be nice to keep them as long as we want and try to develop them. Obviously after the 4th year it would be a waste of time unless it is a QB but I don't see why that can't be our choice.

[lystrodom]

Ok let's guess

2009/2010 PS

OL Valdez

C Bruggeman

LB James

2010 PS

WR Strickland

WR Harvey

DE Stephens

TE Branson

2011 Top candidates ??? my guess

Walls

Woods

Tripp

Hansen

Cox

NAME YOURS

name the 8 you think make it

my GUESS Valdez(?) , Stephens, Harvey, Strickland, Walls, Woods, Hansen, Last a player from another team

I think Walls will make the 53 man roster. They've liked him a lot.

[delaigle]

I think Walls will make the 53 man roster. They've liked him a lot.

yea, I thought hard about that but after they signed Sanders I was thinking 4 CB, 4 S + Bush splitting time as #5 at each

so I put Walls on PS

Now they are talking about signing Hayden???

[Romfal]

It will be hard for Bush and Walls or both to make the day 1 roster right now.

[theProf]

It will be hard for Bush and Walls or both to make the day 1 roster right now.

I agree, but Bush and Walls will be very good Practice Squad prospects for further development.

[theProf]

With the signing of CB Hayden, I have heard some talk that Franks might not make the 53-man roster. I've also read where people have said that Franks is also ineligible for the practice squad, because he has one accrued season of NFL experience. However, Franks might still be eligible for the practice squad due to the following rule:

"(ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s)."

In his only accrued season last year, Franks was usually on the "Inactive" game day list, not the "Active" list. I do not believe that Franks had 9 games last year on the Active list.

[Borat]

Good thought, except he would get signed off it in like 20 seconds

[FalcoChicquera]

name the 8 you think make it

my GUESS Valdez(?) , Stephens, Harvey, Strickland, Walls, Woods, Hansen, Last a player from another team

Froman

Harvey

Strickland

Branson

Valdez

Stephens

Woods

Bush

Walls makes the 53.

[theProf]

Froman

Harvey

Strickland

Branson

Valdez

Stephens

Woods

Bush

Walls makes the 53.

Strike out Froman from being on the Practice Squad. He was waived today:

Falcons Waive QB Froman, OL Murphy

By: Jay Adams | September 1st, 2011

Recommend (1) Print Enlarge Text The Atlanta Falcons today announced that they have waived quarterback Adam Froman and offensive lineman Matt Murphy.

Froman, 6-4, 220 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of the University of Louisville.

Froman played in two preseason games for the Falcons, going 6-of-13 for 45 yards and one interception.

Murphy, 6-4, 300 pounds, was signed by the Falcons as a college free agent on July 26, 2011 out of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

[theProf]

A recap of some of the practice squad general rules, and exceptions to the general rules:

General Rule: A team's Practice Squad is composed of 8 players.

Exception: A team might have a 9-player practice squad, if an International player is assigned to the team.

General Rule: A player can NOT be on the practice squad, if they have an Accrued season of NFL experience on a team's 53-man roster.

Exception: A player with an accrued season(s)on a team's 53-man roster, but was on the 45-man Active game-day roster for less than 9 games during the season, may still be eligible for the practice squad.

General Rule: A player can NOT be on an NFL practice squad for more than two years.

Exception: A player might be eligible for a third year on a team's practice squad, if the team never went under the 53-man roster during the two years that a player was on the practice squad.

[theProf]

General Rule: A player can NOT be on the practice squad, if they have an Accrued season of NFL experience on a team's 53-man roster.

Exception: A player with an accrued season(s)on a team's 53-man roster, but was on the 45-man Active game-day roster for less than 9 games during the season, may still be eligible for the practice squad.

I thought perhaps Gartrell Johnson and Antone Smith might could be practice squad eligible under this exception, but they are not. Both Smith and Johnson appeared in nine games last season, so they had to be on the Active list for at least nine games.

"2010 (FALCONS)

Saw action in nine games and totaled 36 yards on 10 rushes, including a season-long 23 yards Logged six carries for eight yards at Carolina (12/12). "

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/roster-players/gartrell-johnson-iii/

2010 (FALCONS)

Saw action in nine games in 2010 and contributed with two special teams tackles.

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/roster-players/antone-smith/

I still think that Franks might fall under this exception and be eligible for the practice squad this year. He only saw action in two games last season, and I believe he was on the 45-man Active game-day list less than 9 games. Franks was normally one of the players on the Inactive list for most of the game days last year as I recall.

"2010 (FALCONS)

Played in two games as a rookie and posted two tackles (one solo), one interception and one pass defensed. "

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/roster-players/dominique-franks/

[theProf]

Ok let's guess

name the 8 you think make it

my GUESS Valdez(?) , Stephens, Harvey, Strickland, Walls, Woods, Hansen, Last a player from another team

My opinion as to who makes the Falcons Practice Squad as follows:

(1) CB Walls

(2) DE Stephens

(3) LB James (I believe he gets in through the 3 year exception provision)

(4) OL Veldez (I believe he gets in through the 3 year exception provision)

(5) FB Cox

(6) WR Harvey

(7) TE/DE Winterswyk

(8) QB off some other team's waiver

[theProf]

A recap of some of the practice squad general rules, and exceptions to the general rules:

General Rule: A player can NOT be on the practice squad, if they have an Accrued season of NFL experience on a team's 53-man roster.

Exception: A player with an accrued season(s)on a team's 53-man roster, but was on the 45-man Active game-day roster for less than 9 games during the season, may still be eligible for the practice squad.

John Parker Wilson probably is eligible under this exception. He has had two accrued NFL seasons, but he was never part of the 45 man game-day "Active" list. He was suited-up on game day as the 3rd string emergency QB only.

General Rule: A player can NOT be on an NFL practice squad for more than two years.

Exception: A player might be eligible for a third year on a team's practice squad, if the team never went under the 53-man roster during the two years that a player was on the practice squad.

Valdez and James are probably eligible under this exception. Although they have each been on the practice squad the last two seasons, I don't believe Atlanta ever went under the 53 man roster. If someone went on IR, Atlanta always had an immediate replacement on the roster to my knowledge. Bruggeman made the 53 man roster this season after being on Atlanta's practice squad the last two years. I doubt he will be active for more than 9 games this season, so he could probably be moved back to the practice squad when McClure is fully recovered.

I recapped the rules and exceptions based upon the following:

"The brand new CBA has clarified a lot of the language in the previous version, and the practice squad section is no exception. The rules havent changed, but they are expressed more clearly than they were before:

The Practice Squad shall consist of the following players, provided that they have not served more than two previous seasons on a Practice Squad:

(i) players who do NOT have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and

(ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s).

(iii) An otherwise eligible player may be a Practice Squad player for a third season only if the Club by which he is employed that season has at least 53 players on its Active/Inactive List during the entire period of his employment."

http://philly.sportscolumn.com/showthread.php?p=190227

[theProf]

A recap of some of the practice squad general rules, and exceptions to the general rules:

General Rule: A player can NOT be on the practice squad, if they have an Accrued season of NFL experience on a team's 53-man roster.

Exception: A player with an accrued season(s)on a team's 53-man roster, but was on the 45-man Active game-day roster for less than 9 games during the season, may still be eligible for the practice squad.

The above referenced post was done before the following announcement was made:

John Parker Wilson probably is eligible under this exception. He has had two accrued NFL seasons, but he was never part of the 45 man game-day "Active" list. He was suited-up on game day as the 3rd string emergency QB only.

General Rule: A player can NOT be on an NFL practice squad for more than two years.

Exception: A player might be eligible for a third year on a team's practice squad, if the team never went under the 53-man roster during the two years that a player was on the practice squad.

Valdez and James are probably eligible under this exception. Although they have each been on the practice squad the last two seasons, I don't believe Atlanta ever went under the 53 man roster. If someone went on IR, Atlanta always had an immediate replacement on the roster to my knowledge. Bruggeman made the 53 man roster this season after being on Atlanta's practice squad the last two years. I doubt he will be active for more than 9 games this season, so he could probably be moved back to the practice squad when McClure is fully recovered.

I recapped the rules and exceptions based upon the following:

"The brand new CBA has clarified a lot of the language in the previous version, and the practice squad section is no exception. The rules haven’t changed, but they are expressed more clearly than they were before:

The Practice Squad shall consist of the following players, provided that they have not served more than two previous seasons on a Practice Squad:

(i) players who do NOT have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and

(ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s).

(iii) An otherwise eligible player may be a Practice Squad player for a third season only if the Club by which he is employed that season has at least 53 players on its Active/Inactive List during the entire period of his employment."

http://philly.sportscolumn.com/showthread.php?p=190227

The above referenced post was made before the following announcement:

The Atlanta Falcons today announced that they have signed safety Rafael Bush, wide receiver Kevin Cone, wide receiver Drew Davis, guard Andrew Jackson, linebacker Robert James, tackle Jose Valdez and quarterback John Parker Wilson to their practice squad.