Phin Phanatic
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NFL should expand roster sizes if practices do not resume on time

By Brian Miller

DAVIE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: A general view of the media room prior to a season ending press conference by the Miami Dolphins at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on December 30, 2019 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
DAVIE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: A general view of the media room prior to a season ending press conference by the Miami Dolphins at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on December 30, 2019 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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With so much uncertainty for the 2020 season, the NFL should expand roster sizes if the start of training camp is delayed.

The NFL and the NFLPA recently agreed to a new CBA just before the league shut down all business practices at team facilities. That new deal includes several increases to team rosters but under the current health situation, another increase may be smart.

Under the new CBA, teams can carry two more active players on their game-day rosters provided they have at minimum, eight, offensive lineman. If they do, they can carry 48 active for games, if they don’t they can carry 47. It really is an odd part of the rule but clearly the league wants to less offensive lineman sitting on the inactive list.

The league does not allow for an increase in 53 man roster size, not technically anyway. Instead, teams can add one or two practice squad players to a game-day roster without actually signing them off the PS. This would be a temporary assignment. The player would immediately go back to the PS after the game and a player can only be put on the active roster twice in a season.

The NFL did not make many concessions with the increase in roster size which isn’t surprising but with teams not conducting traditional off-season work, it might be a good idea to make roster exemptions to start the season.

If I were the NFL boss, I would allow teams to carry five extra players on the roster in addition to what they have now. This would only be for the first quarter of the season to allow players to get back into football shape as it is possible that changes to training camp could take place.

Again, the NFL doesn’t have to do anything but we can assume that players are not going to be in normal NFL shape by the time training camp rolls around and this will at least provide teams with a small security blanket for the first month of the season and then, it can be rolled back to normal if things improve.

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