Practice Squad Question

[paceram]

I thought I read somewhere recently that a team with a player on their Practice Squad has the right to sign that player to their 53 Player Roster before another team can sign him to their Roster (Sort of like Rights of 1st Refusal)??? If this is true I was not aware of it. I thought once a player was on a Team's PS any team could sign him (As long as they signed him to their 53 Player Roster and he stayed there at least 3 games) and there was nothing the current team could do to stop that team from signing him. Can anyone elaborate this for me? Thanks!

 

[OldSchool]

It seems they can be signed by other teams like you said only to their 53 man roster. I thought a team could keep the guy by putting him on their own 53 man but I haven't found anything yet. This is a little list of some of the PS rules I found:

• Thanks to a new rule that was passed just a couple of weeks ago, practice squads are now comprised of ten players. The number used to be eight.
• Practice squad players are just that. . .guys that practice with the team. They don't play in any games and don't count against the 53-man roster.
• Players that are on the practice squad get paid weekly and can be dropped at any time during the season. The minimum salary for a practice squad player is $6,300/week, but teams can pay more (and usually will if they think that another team is considering poaching one of their players).
• Practice squad players can be signed by any other team at any other time, provided that they're signed directly to a team's 53-man roster. A team can't sign a player from another team's practice squad simply to put them on their practice squad. If a player is released from a team's practice squad, he can then sign with another team's practice squad.
• A practice squad player can not sign with a team's upcoming opponent after 3 PM Central time six days before the two teams play each other. (Ten days if their team is currently on a bye week.)
• If a player is signed from a practice squad to an active roster, whether it's their current team or that of another team, they will receive at least three game checks, regardless of whether or not the team releases them before those three weeks are up.
• In order to sign a player to the practice squad after they have been released, the player has to clear waivers.

 

[CoachO]

You are correct to a point.

Any team can attempt to sign a player from the PS and yes, that team must add the player to the 53 man roster.

But it's my understanding that if the current team chooses to, they can activate that player to their own 53 man roster thereby avoiding losing him.

In theory, the player then can choose which team he prefers. There can then become some negotiating involved.

New Orleans did that very thing with a developmental QB a couple of years ago.

 

[paceram]

It seems they can be signed by other teams like you said only to their 53 man roster. I thought a team could keep the guy by putting him on their own 53 man but I haven't found anything yet. This is a little list of some of the PS rules I found:

Thanks for the Information! I thought I knew the PS rules pretty well but I guess I was WRONG!!!

 

[Merlin]

I believe the PS player can be signed at any time to another team's 53 plain and simple. Do not believe there is any right on the part of the team whose PS he is on.

Edit: guess I was wrong.

 

[OldSchool]

But it's my understanding that if the current team chooses to, they can activate that player to their own 53 man roster thereby avoiding losing him.

Thanks @CoachO! That was both mine and @paceram thinking but I couldn't find anywhere that has that rule actually written down. Appreciate it.

 

[jsimcox]

You are correct to a point.

Any team can attempt to sign a player from the PS and yes, that team must add the player to the 53 man roster.

But it's my understanding that if the current team chooses to, they can activate that player to their own 53 man roster thereby avoiding losing him.

In theory, the player then can choose which team he prefers. There can then become some negotiating involved.

New Orleans did that very thing with a developmental QB a couple of years ago.

It was Ryan Griffin IIRC, the Rams tried to sign him from the Saints PS but the Saints activated him, thereby blocking the Rams from signing Griffin.

 

[paceram]

You are correct to a point.

Any team can attempt to sign a player from the PS and yes, that team must add the player to the 53 man roster.

But it's my understanding that if the current team chooses to, they can activate that player to their own 53 man roster thereby avoiding losing him.

In theory, the player then can choose which team he prefers. There can then become some negotiating involved.

New Orleans did that very thing with a developmental QB a couple of years ago.

Thanks Coach for the explanation! It is definitely more involved/confusing than I thought!