LA Rams News: Should team add veterans if practice squad rule changes?

LA Rams News: As the NFL considers allowing unlimited experienced players on practice squad members, should Rams add veterans to the roster for 2020?

As the LA Rams continue to prepare for the 2020 NFL season and the July 28, 2020 start of training camp, the NFL continues to debate ways to address concerns over how the league will handle the practice squad roster size in 2020.  Why the debate immediately following the ratification of the new NFL-NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)?  It’s a way for the NFL to indirectly allow teams to add players to their roster should active players contract COVID-19.  In any one of multiple scenarios, one positive could seriously impact the rosters of two NFL teams.

So how could NFL teams, and specifically the LA Rams, plan to overcome a sudden temporary loss of multiple starters?  The only way to really pre-plan is to create a new pool of players to activate should a team face numerous players testing positively for coronavirus. But the existing rules of NFL practice squads limit how long a player can participate on an NFL team’s practice roster.  And there is a limit as to how much experience a player can have to be eligible to be signed to a practice squad roster.

Packer President provides practice squad particulars

Per Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy, the NFL is holding discussions now that to allow teams to assign veteran players to their practice squad:

"“Have you been listening in on some of our recent league meetings, Thomas? We are absolutely considering increasing the practice squad this year to give teams more roster flexibility during the pandemic. The practice squad has steadily grown over the years. It was set at 10 last year and goes to 12 under the new bargaining agreement (and then increases to 14 during the term of the agreement). These discussions are part of our negotiations with the NFLPA, but I do anticipate that the practice squad will be increased this year (it is a positive for the players and teams). We are also considering changing the eligibility rules for the practice squad, again to provide more flexibility, especially for teams to sign more veteran players to the practice squad.”"

Of course, discussions are not defined rule changes just yet. It’s just one more variable facing the LA Rams this offseason.  Of course, there is a litany of proposed changes in the NFL right now.  Thankfully, we have ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio to discuss and describe each of these developments:

We’d mentioned the rapidly changing rules of the NFL this season. The circumstances facing 32 NFL teams this year are very fluid, and the “one size fits all” approach by the NFL is working very hard to manage all those variables in the most comprehensive yet simplest way possible.

Now about that practice squad change. The Rams are in a good position this year, as the team had returned 46 players to the roster from 2019.  While any flexibility to assign veterans to the practice squad remains up in the air, it would most certainly benefit the Rams who are carrying such 2019 injured players like Joesph Noteboom, Brian Allen, and others.

An option to assign them to the practice squad while they continue to improve and rehab fully after last season’s devastating injuries would be a huge plus for the Rams to retain players who gained priceless experience from last season, but who are not yet fully ready to compete this year.

The rules change would also allow the team to remain committed to developing young players while reinforcing current roster weaknesses with added veteran support. That could be a very effective strategy for the Rams personnel office, a team that enjoys the advantage of solid veteran presence while also committing to developing younger players to fill future roster holes.