With the Pittsburgh Steelers reporting to Latrobe for training camp on Friday, it’s time to look ahead at the players that will be eligible for the practice squad should they ultimately not make the final 53 man roster.
First, here’s a look at what the CBA has to say about who is and isn’t eligible for the practice squad.
(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.)
Going by the rules laid out above, I have identified 44 players on the Steelers current 90 man roster that will be eligible for the practice squad and that list of players is below.
Many of you are probably wondering why players such as wide receiver Derek Moye and quarterback Landry Jones are still eligible even though both were on the Steelers 53 man roster for the entire 2013 season. The reason they’re both still eligible boils down to the fact that neither have been active for nine games in a single season as of yet. Moye, for example, only dressed for seven games last season while Jones was inactive for all 16 games.
Remember late last season when the Steelers signed safety Ross Ventrone to their practice squad? As soon as that happened, Ventrone used up his final year of practice squad eligibility. In other words, his NFL career will likely be over for good if he fails to make the Steelers final 53 man roster.
In case you have forgotten, Ventrone is perhaps the all-time king of the transaction list moves since he originally signed with the New England Patriots way back in April of 2010. For entertainment purposes, I have included all of the roster moves that have included him over the years at the very bottom of this post.
Steelers Players Eligible For 2014 Practice Squad
| # | PLAYER | POS | EXP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Dri Archer | WR/RB | R |
| 87 | Rob Blanchflower | TE | R |
| 10 | Martavis Bryant | WR | R |
| 61 | Chris Elkins | OL | R |
| 18 | C.J. Goodwin | WR | R |
| 49 | Jordan Hall | RB | R |
| 79 | Ethan Hemer | DE | R |
| 67 | Wesley Johnson | OL | R |
| 34 | Howard Jones | LB | R |
| 8 | Brendon Kay | QB | R |
| 71 | Josh Mauro | DE | R |
| 62 | Emmanuel McCray | OL | R |
| 74 | Daniel McCullers | DL | R |
| 62 | Roy Philon | DT | R |
| 31 | Shaquille Richardson | CB | R |
| 50 | Ryan Shazier | LB | R |
| 65 | Will Simmons | G | R |
| ? | Lew Toler | CB | R |
| 91 | Stephon Tuitt | DE | R |
| 80 | Eric Waters | TE | R |
| 56 | Jordan Zumwalt | LB | R |
| 33 | Alvester Alexander | RB | 1 |
| 15 | Justin Brown | WR | 1 |
| 88 | Danny Coale | WR | 1 |
| 42 | Jordan Dangerfield | S | 1 |
| 45 | Bryce Davis | TE/LS | 1 |
| 74 | Chris Hubbard | G | 1 |
| 65 | Al Lapuaho | DT | 1 |
| 30 | Miguel Maysonet | RB | 1 |
| 45 | Dan Molls | LB | 1 |
| 19 | Kashif Moore | WR | 1 |
| 17 | Lanear Sampson | WR | 1 |
| 30 | Devin Smith | CB | 1 |
| 9 | Brad Wing | P | 1 |
| 69 | Brian Arnfelt | DE | 2 |
| 92 | Hebron Fangupo | DT | 2 |
| 39 | Isaiah Green | CB | 2 |
| 3 | Landry Jones | QB | 2 |
| 14 | Derek Moye | WR | 2 |
| 38 | Tauren Poole | RB | 2 |
| 71 | David Snow | C/G | 2 |
| 67 | Nick Williams | DE | 2 |
| 49 | Vic So’oto | LB | 3 |
| 51 | Sean Spence | LB | 3 |
Career Transactions Of Ross Ventrone
| DATE | TRANSACTION |
|---|---|
| 12/31/2013 | Signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to a future contract. |
| 12/13/2013 | Re-signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers to the practice squad. |
| 8/31/2013 | Waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers. |
| 1/2/2013 | Signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers. |
| 9/1/2012 | Released by the New England Patriots. |
| 8/27/2012 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 2/7/2012 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 12/28/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 12/26/2011 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 12/17/2011 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 11/24/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 11/22/2011 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 11/21/2011 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 11/17/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 11/15/2011 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 11/12/2011 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 11/9/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 11/3/2011 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 10/19/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots. |
| 10/17/2011 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 10/8/2011 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 10/4/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 10/1/2011 | Released by the New England Patriots. |
| 9/24/2011 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 9/5/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 9/3/2011 | Released by the New England Patriots. |
| 8/29/2011 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots. |
| 8/9/2011 | Released by the New England Patriots. |
| 1/18/2011 | Signed by the New England Patriots from the practice squad. |
| 10/19/2010 | Re-signed by the New England Patriots to the practice squad. |
| 9/4/2010 | Released by the New England Patriots. |
| 8/23/2010 | Signed as a free agent by the New England Patriots. |
| 8/15/2010 | Waived by the New England Patriots. |
| 4/25/2010 | Signed as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots. |
