2020 NFL: New Practice Squad and IR Rules

Saints Rest

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I just read up on the new PS rules via this article on MassLive.

Some of this has been discussed before around BBTL:
  • PS size increased form 10 to 16
  • No limit as to previous active roster experience
  • Four players may be protected from being grabbed by other teams
But the article also mentioned something that is completely new to me: "The practice squad will be impacted too by shorter injured reserve and the unlimited ability to designate a player on IR to return."

So who can tell me about the new IR rules?

Also, are any or all of these rules COVID-related only, meaning they are only meant to last for this one season? Or is the expectation that these rules will become SOP going forward long-term?
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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Some PS discussion here: https://nesn.com/2020/09/did-patriots-practice-attendance-hint-at-whos-heading-to-injured-reserve/

The Patriots’ other option to get Folk or Rohrwasser on their gameday roster would include keeping both kickers on the practice squad. The Patriots can temporarily elevate two players from their practice squad to the gameday roster without exposing them to waivers. The Patriots could use one of those spots in Week 1 on a kicker. Players can only be temporarily elevated twice in a season and not in consecutive weeks. So, if that’s the path the Patriots take, it would only be a temporary plan that could carry them through Week 4.
 

Soxy

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Dec 1, 2008
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So who can tell me about the new IR rules?

Also, are any or all of these rules COVID-related only, meaning they are only meant to last for this one season? Or is the expectation that these rules will become SOP going forward long-term?
Unlimited number of players can come back from IR, and you can activate them after only 3 weeks. Only limit is you can't do it more than once on the same player, and they have to have been on the active 53-man roster at some point. Any player put on IR before yesterday's final cuts is done for the season.

I believe all of these rules are only for COVID but maybe they end up making some permanent if coaches, teams, and players see a benefit. They mainly want to minimize roster churn as much as possible. If you're a Patriots fan, it shouldn't be hard to recall instances of the same end-of-roster player being constantly cut and re-signed multiple times throughout the season. They're trying to avoid that kind of thing as much as possible this year, for obvious reasons.
 

Ferm Sheller

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Mar 5, 2007
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A number of players are eligible to come off injured reserve this week: Gunner, Yodny Cajuste, Damien Harris, Beau Allen, and Michael Barnett. It'll be interesting to see who does come off. Any guesses? Gunner's probably the biggest name of that group to keep an eye on (based on performance reports out of camp and need at the position), but I'm also excited to see what Harris and Cajuste can do.
 
Apr 24, 2019
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Beau Allen hasn’t played at all, but we sure could use his Shelton-ish heft in the middle of our D right now. He and Harris are the top two on my wish list.