NFL Practice Squad Rules, Salary and Eligibility

The Falcons will have a 10 man practice squad in place on Sunday, August 31st, so I thought this was an appropriate time to review the rules for the squad. The major change this season, of course, is that teams can now have ten players, not just eight.

The other change is crucial, but less remarked upon. Teams can now stash up to two players on their practice squad who have no more than two full accrued seasons, which means a player like Paul Worrilow or Joplo Bartu could feasibly hit the list after the 2014 season, even if they were to play and start every game. You run the risk of losing the player, but it's a new wrinkle for teams looking to stash talent anywhere but their active roster.

For a full primer for other practice squad rules, you'll want to check out this piece from SB Nation. Key rules to know ahead of Sunday, for those not inclined to click over:

• Practice squad players are guaranteed nothing, and can be released essentially at any time.
• If you're on the active roster for less than nine games during the season, but you spent the rest of the time on the eight man inactive list, you're still eligible for the practice squad the following year.
• Players earn a minimum of $6,000 per week while they're on the practice squad, and teams are able to go significantly higher than that if they're interested in enticing a player to stay on board.