Later today we will know what the initial 53 man roster will look like for the Pittsburgh Steelers as the final round of transactions will be made.
It’s a big day for several players that have been with Steelers for a little while as well as safety DaMon Cromartie-Smith, guard John Malecki and tight end Jamie McCoy are all out of practice squad eligibility now. That means they must make the Steelers 53 man roster or hope that another team signs them as a free agent should they be released.
Malecki is the safest of the three players as he should be the backup swing guard and center. Cromartie-Smith needs to hope his special teams play was good enough during the preseason to impress new coordinator Danny Smith.
With McCoy, it might come down to whether or not Matt Spaeth is ultimately placed on the injured reserve list next week with the designated to return tag. He is almost certain to get waived on Saturday, but could be back next week.
So what makes a player eligible for an NFL practice squad? Below are the rules from the CBA.
(a) The practice squad shall consist of the following players, provided that they have not served more than two previous seasons on a Practice Squad: (i) players who do not have an Accrued Season of NFL experience; and (ii) free agent players who were on the Active List for fewer than nine regular season games during their only Accrued Season(s). An otherwise eligible player may be a practice squad player for a third season only if the Club by which he is employed that season has at least 53 players on its Active/Inactive List
during the entire period of his employment.(b) A player shall be deemed to have served on a Practice Squad in a season if he has passed the club’s physical and been a member of the club’s Practice Squad for at least three regular season or postseason games during his first two Practice Squad seasons, and for at least one regular season or postseason game during his third Practice Squad season. (A bye week counts as a game provided that the player is not terminated until after the regular season or postseason weekend in question.)
Here now are the players that are still on the roster prior as of Saturday morning that are still eligible for the practice squad.
C Joe Madsen
CB Devin Smith
CB Isaiah Green
CB Josh Victorian
CB Terry Hawthorne
DE Brian Arnfelt
G Chris Hubbard
G David DeCastro
G Mike Golic Jr.
LB Alan Baxter
LB Chris Carter
LB Jarvis Jones
LB Kion Wilson
LB Marshall McFadden
LB Terence Garvin
LB Vince Williams
NT Alameda Ta’amu
NT Loni Fangupo
QB Landry Jones
RB Alvester Alexander
RB Le’Veon Bell
S Ross Ventrone
S Shamarko Thomas
T Joe Long
TE NathanOverbay
WR Derek Moye
WR Justin Brown
WR Kashif Moore
WR Marcus Wheaton
WR Reggie Dunn
