As previously reported, Monday, August 25, 2008, looms large on the calendars of hundreds of players around the league trying to make NFL rosters. This is the date that clubs must reduce their rosters from 80 to 75 players. Four days later, on Sunday, August 30, clubs must reduce their roster yet again to the regular roster limit of 53 players. While many players will surely be disappointed when they learn they’ve been cut, a group of them will be allowed to sign to a club’s practice squad to help their team and hopefully improve their skills to NFL caliber.

On Monday, August 31, the day after the final pre-season cut-down, each club may establish a practice squad of no more than eight players, who are considered free agents. These are players who do not have more than nine games on the active list in a previous season and who have not served on a practice squad more than two previous seasons.

“Practice squads give young players a chance to improve their skill level by practicing against the regular roster players during the regular season,” said NFLPA Staff Counsel and Regional Director Tom DePaso. “They gain valuable experience that may allow them to ultimately make a regular roster later that year or in subsequent years.” As regular roster players become injured during the long NFL season, many clubs call upon their practice squad players to come in and fill the void created by the injured players.

Although they earn less than regular roster players, practice squad players still earn a minimum of $5,200 per week, including the playoff weeks. In addition, a player signed to a practice squad contract with one NFL club is completely free to sign a contract and play on the 53-man active-inactive list of any NFL club, not just his practice squad club. So the player remains a free agent for purposes of signing an NFL contract.

For young players, the practice squad keeps alive their hope of making an NFL roster.