Know the Rules

 

One of the significant Rule changes from last year was reviewed in this diary’s 4/10 post (Colts and Eagles work together again), discussing the rule change where both teams will get an opportunity to touch the ball in a post season regulation tie.  Some other rule changes have come to recent attention:

First, IR, Practice squad & cut-down COVID alterations have been deemed beneficial & will be retained:

• IR- Teams can return 8 players from their IR (including non-football injury and illness) list.  This number was unlimited in a COVID 2021 season, but much more flexible than pre-COVID, where players could not return.  Also, a player can be IR’d up to 3 times, and repromoted up to twice in a given season.
• Practice Squad- Increased to 10 players a few years ago and 12 the last 2 (COVID) years, this group is now 16.  Ten of those players can be those without 2 accrued seasons of NFL experience (Free agents on active rosters < 9 regular season games), with the remaining 6 “veteran positions” that ignore accrued experience. 
• 53-man promotions- A practice squad player can be elevated for a max of 3 regular-season games in the same year (and any number of postseason games) without taking up a 53-man active roster spot. Last year it was just 2.
• Cut Down Dates- Training camp ends in July, with most rosters sitting at 90 players.  Till 2017, teams had to cut to 75 before preseason game 4.  In recent previous seasons, teams carried the 90 man rosters into the final preseason game before making 1 big cut to 53 (and the ensuing “madness” to rebuild practice squads) afterwards.  In the 2021 (COVID) season, a staged series of cutdown dates across contiguous weeks made it a more organized succession from 90 to 53 to facilitate COVID issues, going to
• 85 players – Tuesday after first preseason game (this year, 8/16/22)
• 80 players – Tuesday after second preseason game (this year, 8/23/22)
• 53 players – Tuesday after third preseason game (this year, 8/30/22)

The NFL will continue with this format.  Once rosters are reduced to 53, teams will have till Noon Wednesday (8/31) for waiver claims. The NFL will notify all teams by 1pm of claimed players / 53-man rosters, and then teams will be able to sign their practice squad group.  Additionally, this new extra week between the preseason and the regular season (week 1 for most teams is Sunday 9/11/22 this year) will be a spot to potentially attempt to make changes with their personnel and player prep.  Expect the following tactics:

• Player friendly cuts: Let a player go as soon as the team knows so he can find a landing spot and maximize his preseason time to fit in before game 1.
• Team advantageous cuts: Wait to see what players have been cut elsewhere that you may want on your team. Acquiring these new players will force a team to jettison players who would have otherwise remained at the end of their current roster. 
• Team advantageous holds:  Hold hope another club will trade you a future pick for a player you were going to cut anyway, or wait as long as possible to cut guys you plan to place on your practice squad so that they don't dangle on the waiver wire for too long. 

These “roster” rule changes greatly increase roster flexibility.  This is good for teams with deep rosters who can retain more of their good players.  It is also good for teams that carefully manage both their pro personnel scouting and their roster margins (which will now be not only the 53 man roster, but also the top 59, all of whom can be veterans, and the final 10 spots {60-69} for young players with potential).  Roseman and company have been good at managing these roster margins and alternate opportunities, looking for players with potential to “steal” from other teams.  It is also an opportunity, though, to treat players with respext by giving them as long as possible to hook up with other teams. 

 

Second, an NFL rule enabling teams to denying permission to interview and pilfer “Secondary Football executives” (Assistant GM’s, VPs and Directors of Player personnel) until after the draft (and thru 6/30).  The Eagles suffered greatly here, losing several executives in 2022 during the draft process.  The new rule makes clear the employer club would be required to grant permission for another club to interview and hire a non-high-level executive or non-secondary football executive for a secondary football executive position.

The goal was to balance promotion opportunities while ensuring competitive integrity, since employees who take jobs with new teams in January or February take with them a significant amount of institutional knowledge as to free agency and the draft.  The Eagles have become a common spot for this sort of “raiding,” and this will prevent that lack of potential continuity in the future.

Eagle Lesson:  GM Roseman will be better positioned to “leverage roster flexibility at the margins,” and to retain his internal personnel think tank across NFL Years without having to maintain indelible secrecy via executive thefts by other teams.  This will provide Strategic, Tactical and Operational benefits.