Your Seattle Seahawks just absolutely *sent* the Kansas City Chiefs packing with a dominant 20-3 victory! Lumen Field was rocking, and our Hawks came to play, putting up an impressive 20 points while holding a tough Chiefs offense to just a field goal. That’s the kind of performance that makes you want to run through a brick wall for the green and blue! It’s days like these that remind you why you bleed for the Emerald City. While we’re still buzzing from that win, the NFL machine keeps grinding, and teams across the league are constantly playing a high-stakes game of roster management, even down to the practice squad.
Bears Making Moves and the Grind Is Real
Take the Chicago Bears, for instance. They are right in the thick of their regular season grind, and their practice squad is a fluid operation. Initially, they rolled with a 16-man squad, but these lists are constantly changing. Just on October 27, they pulled running back Zavier Scott up to their 53-man active roster. That’s a huge step for a player trying to make it in this league!
The rest of their practice squad lineup still includes some familiar names and guys fighting for their shot: Caden Barnett, offensive guard Christian Jones, offensive tackle Salvon Ahmed, running back Kaden Davis, wide receivers J.P. Richardson, Scotty Miller, and Stephen Carlson, tight ends Qadir Ismail and Miller Moss, quarterback Wayne Matthews III, linebackers Buddy Johnson and Keidron Smith, safety Elijah Jones, cornerbacks KC Eziomume and Beau Gardner, and a long snapper. Unfortunately, safety Anthony Johnson Jr. is currently on their practice squad injured list, which is never easy to see.
Beyond the Depth Chart: The Real Roster Battle
Understanding the practice squad isn’t just about knowing who’s on it; it’s about knowing the rules that govern this crucial part of team building. These rules dictate who can be there and how teams can use them. For starters, a team can actually carry a 17th player if they qualify for the NFL’s International Pathway Program, which is a cool way to expand the talent pool.
Eligibility gets a bit granular too: we’re talking about rookies with no accrued seasons, or players with fewer than nine regular season games in their lone accrued season. Then there’s a maximum of ten players who have earned no more than two accrued seasons. Teams can also have up to six players with unlimited accrued seasons on the practice squad. The kicker here is that the number of players in those last two categories combined cannot exceed ten total. It’s a real balancing act for general managers and coaches.
And the in-season strategy? That’s where it gets wild. Teams can elevate up to two practice squad players for each game, but they still have to stick to that 48-player active limit on game day. After the game, those elevated players revert right back to the practice squad. A player can get elevated up to three times. But if they’re needed after that third time, the team *has* to sign them to the 53-man active roster.
What’s even wilder is that practice squad players are basically free agents. They can be signed to another team’s active roster at any time! Their current club can’t block them, only make a counteroffer to try and keep them. Ultimately, it’s the player’s decision. If a player gets signed away, their new team has to keep them on the 53-man roster for three weeks, and they’re guaranteed three weeks’ salary. If that player gets released before those three weeks are up, they revert back to their previous team. There’s even a rule about not being able to sign with your team’s upcoming opponent unless you do it six days before the game, or ten days prior if your team is on its bye week. It’s a cutthroat business, man!
So, while we’re still riding high on that 20-3 victory, remember that the NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. Every single player, every roster spot, every rule matters. Let’s keep cheering on our Hawks as they navigate this intense regular season! Go Hawks!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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