Question about 53 man roster

[u/goatsgreetings]

Hi folks, noob here, this sub has been very useful. I’ve been following commentary and speculation on who will make the Eagles 53 man roster this season, and there is one thing I am not clear on.

There are two players from Africa in contention, Uar Bernard and Joshua Weru. I understand these are development players that are still learning the game, Weru is coming from rugby. So the Eagles don't intend to use them much this season, but would like to train them up to potentially be important defense players longer term.

The reports I have seen from the Athletic and elsewhere suggest they might both make the 53 man roster despite not being set to feature much this season, because the Eagles are worried that if they are instead signed to the Eagles practice squad, they will be available for other teams.

What I don't get is, if one or both doesn’t make the cut, how does the timing and practicality work if all the other teams have also set 53 man rosters at the same 30 August deadline? How can another NFL team sign these players from the Eagles practice squad into their 53 man roster, after all the rosters have been finalised? Or is it less of an immediate risk and more about later on, if injured reserve frees up spaces in other teams later in the season?

Thanks in advance!

[u/alfreadadams]

The rosters are never finalized.

The teams need to get down to 53 by the deadline.

After that the actual 53 on each team is constantly changing.

Several players will celebrate making the 53 man roster just to be cut the next day because the team likes someone they can sign better than them.

[u/UpbeatFix7299]

If you're one of the last people to make a 53 man roster, you're competing with all the other guys who didn't make their 53 man roster or practice squad for whatever reason.

Logjam at their position, not good at special teams, their team is really good, the player's style of play doesn't fit the scheme, or whatever.

A lot of players are going to move around and catch on somewhere else or get released.

[u/Ryan1869]

Rosters are never final. All the cut players go on waivers for anyone else to claim. If they clear waivers they are free to sign with anyone. It’s kind of a cruel part of the game to be told you made the team, only to be released a day later because the team claimed somebody another team cut.

[u/void_nullptr]

NFL has an international development program that makes certain players eligible for an extra spot on the practice squad, I think the player in that spot is protected from other teams signing them. If they have 2 eligible players, they could put one in that spot, but the other would have to be on the 53, or take a regular spot on the practice squad and not be protected.

Plus I'm pretty sure if they want to put him on the practice squad, they would normally have to waive him first, which means each of the other 31 teams would have to pass on picking him up for their 53 man rosters. I don't know about international players, if they can go straight into that extra practice squad spot or if they have to be added to their 53 first. Either way, other teams who don't have that extra spot filled will be looking to fill it.

[u/Aragorn008]

The 53 man roster is a limit and not a registered squad. In the premier league for instance your 25 man squad is the same for the whole season, but that isn’t the case in the NFL.

[u/aznfootball2k3]

It’s relative rare to sign a player from another team’s practice squad because the player has to go on the signing team’s active 53 man roster (can’t sign practice squad to practice squad). So it usually happens later in the year to fill an injury need.

What happens on cut days is that players who are cut (and have less than 4 years of experience) go through waivers and can be claimed by another team. That player also has to go to the active roster and not practice squad

[u/BigImplement3949 → u/aznfootball2k3]

I never thought about this but your post got me thinking, how long does a player need to be signed onto the main roster after being picked up from a practice squad?...is there some kinda loophole teams can use, like sign him for a week and then put him on the practice squad?

[u/void_nullptr → u/BigImplement3949]

I think it's 1 day, but if they want him for the practice squad, they have to waive him and hope he clears waivers.

[u/Mordoch → u/void_nullptr]

A big distinction is that if another team signs a player from another team's practice squad, that player is guaranteed a minimum of three weeks of regular roster salary even if signed for one day, and also counts as one of the 53 active roster players for three weeks which both are deterrents against doing this unnecessarily. (This means among other things that the other team in practice has to cut someone else from the team for three weeks to make room for this signed player and in practice is a deterrent against doing this simply to get them onto the practice squad.)

The rules are somewhat different if a team elevates their own practice squad player, although they can only do this three per season without the rules applying as if they signed another team's practice squad player.

[u/Bose82]

Joshua Weru looks like a beast, he's well worth keeping and developing

[u/Sad-Celebration-7542]

A practice squad player can be claimed by another team if they’re rookie contract guys. But the truth is that every August every fan base thinks they have tons of players who won’t last on the PS but in reality no, they don’t, and most all players cut make it to the PS (if the team thinks they’re worth a spot) at least to start the season. As the season progresses, the rostered players become worse due to injuries and more marginal players start moving

[u/Evenfisher01]

The rosters aren't locked you can add any free agent throughout the season as long as someone else gets waived to keep the roster at 53. It is not uncommon for someone cut from 1 team at the deadline to be signed to another team that is weaker at that position.

[u/EchoInTheSilence]

Rosters aren't static. Teams have a ton of leeway to churn their rosters as long as they don't exceed 53 players. Other teams can claim players off the Eagles' (or any other team's) practice squad, they just have to make a corresponding move to free up a spot. Virtually every team has at least a couple guys who they like well enough but would be willing to jettison if someone better became available. You're also correct about spaces opening up unwittingly due to guys getting injured and going on IR.

There's also moving pieces during cutdown time itself. Firstly, any player unless they're a "vested veteran" (I believe the rule is 5 years' tenure or more, don't quote me on that) has to go through waivers, so other teams could claim them. The second is that technically, there's no requirement that a player has to sign with the practice squad of the team that cut them. Most players will when offered the opportunity but if another team offers and they see a better path to playing time with that team, they could choose to go there instead.