Can LA Rams get by with just a 12 player practice squad?

The LA Rams enjoyed the benefit of a 16-player practice squad in 2020. It was originally planned to expand to 12 players in 2020, up from the 10 player limit for the practice squad in place for 2019.  After the coronavirus pandemic threatened the ability to play the 2020 NFL season, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to add four additional slots to the practice squad to give teams the ability to manage the uncertainly of intermittent positive COVID-19 testing among players throughout the season.

Now that a vaccine is available, and the NFL and NFLPA will certainly ensure that all players are vaccinated before training camp officially begins, what will the league do with the practice quad roster?

Well, the short and simple answer would be that the NFL would return the practice squad roster to its original schedule maximum of 12 players for 2021.  While I could rationalize the number falling to 14, the size of the practice squad slated for 2022. Still, it will likely be fewer players, and that will force the team to re-strategize.

Expanded roster value still outweighs the cost

With the expanded roster, the LA Rams were able to address two areas of concern. First, the team was able to retain more undrafted players who were signed in 2020. This helped to compensate for the absence of any meaningful training camp or preseason game time that would have allowed the coaching staff to gather meaningful data and make intelligent decisions upon the future potential of a number of prospects.  Instead, the Rams carried more developmental prospects on the practice squad to delay those decisions until more accurate data became available.

Secondly, the expanded practice squad roster allowed the Rams to carry a ‘spare’ for unique positions on the team. That includes long snapper, placekicker, and punter.  Now the big question is, how will the NFL and NFLPA compromise for the 2021 NFL season in terms of adding a newly signed player to the roster?

Until that is resolved, the NFL and NFLPA should not be expected to agree to revert back to a smaller practice squad. In fact, even as the details about how the league will handle the new transitional protocol, it would be wise to err on the side of a larger practice squad roster, rather than too few.

If the NFL and NFLPA agree to revert to the 12 man practice squad, they will need to complete a considerable amount of work to make it all possible. And in the meantime, they should roll over everything in place from 2020 until they have decided upon a fully vetted revised plan for 2021.