NFL increases practice squad size to 16 players, per report

The NFL and NFLPA are continuing to iron out the details on how the NFL season will start and proceed.

As of right now, team roster sizes will stay at 53 players, but practice squads will see a bump in capacity.

Per Mark Maske of The Washington Post, practice squads can now roster 16 players and can protect a maximum of four players per week from being poached by other teams.

Under the new CBA that was passed earlier this year, practice squads were set to see a bump up to 12 players after being capped at 10 since the 2014 season. This four-player increase will allow teams to carry more players during a season where COVID-19 can change the outlook of a roster every single day. What’s interesting is that starting in 2022, 14 players would be allowed on a practice squad, so that may have to be modified if the NFLPA has an issue with it.

The new CBA also allowed for two practice squad players in a single a week to be elevated to the active roster. These players would have to be kept on the roster for a minimum of three weeks.

For the Bengals, and every other team, this allows for a total of 69 players to be kept on the active roster and practice squad. One-fourth of the practice squad can also be protected, essentially giving every team four extra players they can activate at any time as long as they have those two additional spots open.

It’ll be riveting to see which four players the Bengals decide to protect on their expanded practice squad