The NFL, for many years, greatly restricted who was eligible to sign a contract to a practice squad. The COVID-19 pandemic forced their hand to greatly loosen those restrictions as talent availability became a major concern, and fortunately, they’ve left most of those changes in place.
That includes allowing any player to be eligible to sign to a practice squad no matter his level of experience. In doing so, it changed what the practice squad is, or what it can be. And the Pittsburgh Steelers have greatly needed that this year.
Now, teams can retain veteran, experienced players on practice squads, players who can step in and play right away with a certain level of expectation for quality of performance and discipline. It’s been needed for weeks, and today’s game is no different. Head coach Mike Tomlin is thankful.
“I love it. It’s not anything mystical, it is a tangible thing. That’s why we have guys like Myles Jack and Eric Rowe on our practice squad,” he told Bob Pompeani on the Mike Tomlin Show last night. “They’re not there for development. They’re there in case we need them. They’re veteran guys. They know what to do. They’ve got in-game defensive experience, and it showed”.
Rowe, now in his ninth season, has started 101 games, the last coming in the Steelers’ last game. He has spent about the past month on their practice squad but was elevated to play against the Cincinnati Bengals due to the myriad of injuries at safety.
Likewise for Jack, who has been in the league since 2016 and has 95 snaps to his name. He started 13 games for the Steelers last year but was released as a salary cap casualty. He had retired before getting a call from Pittsburgh last month to sign to their practice squad, and likewise, he was elevated for the first time this season.
With the injuries at safety and inside linebacker persisting into today’s game, both will likely be asked to man similar roles. Both remain on the practice squad and have been elevated to play, and both are expected to start.
This would not have been possible just a few short years ago. Once upon a time, even second-year players who dressed for too many games as rookies would not be able to be signed to the practice squad. Think of CB Joe Burnett back in 2009. He didn’t make the 53-man roster in 2010, but the Steelers couldn’t retain him on the practice squad because he was active too often the year before.
It was always a pointlessly restrictive rule that is fortunately a thing of the past. And it helps extend the careers of veterans like Jack and Rowe, who might otherwise be out of the league at this point. Especially Jack, given that he was literally moving on with his life’s work.
