If you love getting into the nitty gritty of the CBA and NFL rules and procedures, this post is for you. The NFLPA is reversing a rule passed earlier this year that would’ve allowed an emergency third QB to take the form of a practice squad elevation instead of being on the 53-man roster. That rule would’ve created more roster flexibility and allowed teams to more comfortably carry two quarterbacks on the roster. Now, the NFLPA is using their veto power to scrap the change.
NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero shared the news Monday afternoon.
Had the rule change remained, teams could’ve used one of their two weekly standard elevations on a quarterback to designate him as the emergency in the case the starter and immediate backup were injured. Now, the rule reverts to what it was before, mandating that player be on the team’s 53-man roster, though they’re still allowed to be designated as inactive with the emergency tag.
It’s unclear exactly why the NFLPA took issue with the change but they likely believed it would hurt third-string quarterbacks chances of making the 53-man roster where they would be paid much more than if they landed on the practice squad.
For Pittsburgh, this likely doesn’t impact much. Though we discussed the idea in May, the Steelers are traditionalist in keeping three quarterbacks on the 53 even as other teams moved to rostering just two. But this cements Kyle Allen as the team’s third-string quarterback on the roster behind Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. It’s been rare to find the team only keeping two quarterbacks on their roster at any point. They briefly did so in 2019, trading away QB Josh Dobbs to the Jacksonville Jaguars, leaving Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph as their two arms. But they were immediately burned by that move when Roethlisberger suffered a season-ending elbow injury the following week, leaving the team scrambling the rest of the season.
Pittsburgh and the rest of the NFL must reduce their rosters to 53 by 4 PM/EST tomorrow. Some teams will still roll the dice and only carry two quarterbacks, hoping to avoid a Tom Tupa situation. They just won’t be able to take advantage of the proposed rule change.
