Giuseppe Tognarelli Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Not a lot of people are thinking about the fact that practice squads are expanded to 16 this year and can also include veterans. I also don't think there will be as much poaching this year because of the lack of preseason film and the pandemic, so I bet most all of our good players end up sticking around either on the 53 or the practice squad. https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2020/8/4/21353889/among-changes-to-practice-squad-rules-nfl-extends-weekly-deadline-for-teams-to-elevate-players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaw66 Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 I don't think you can assume teams will be less active poaching. They also will have plenty of practice squad space and therefore flexibility. Any veteran on the PS will be a target. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornAgainBillsFan Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 9 minutes ago, Shaw66 said: I don't think you can assume teams will be less active poaching. They also will have plenty of practice squad space and therefore flexibility. Any veteran on the PS will be a target. I agree. If players start dropping with covid, there will be MORE poaching. But at least 4 players get protected. That'll help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyBatty is alive Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 There will be plenty of poaching, that is for teams that have a competent GM. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estro Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 18 minutes ago, BornAgainBillsFan said: I agree. If players start dropping with covid, there will be MORE poaching. But at least 4 players get protected. That'll help. And don't forget they steal only protected after Tuesday. Even the protected practice squad players can be poached on Mondays, so no one is truly protected. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 There will be MORE poaching, in my opinion. More players on the practice squad, including veterans, means you potentially have higher caliber players there, and they can't be protected for the full week (which means they aren't protected at all). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 33 minutes ago, Estro said: And don't forget they steal only protected after Tuesday. Even the protected practice squad players can be poached on Mondays, so no one is truly protected. Didn't realize this - and I was going to complain they should have more than 5 'protected'. To me it's stupid to not have more protected spots (and not make them permanent) In These Uncertain Times. What is the downside for ownership - having to potentially pay a few more veteran salaries? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 11 minutes ago, stevewin said: Didn't realize this - and I was going to complain they should have more than 5 'protected'. To me it's stupid to not have more protected spots (and not make them permanent) In These Uncertain Times. What is the downside for ownership - having to potentially pay a few more veteran salaries? I agree, but it's likely not the owners who are against more "protected spots." Likely the players want to be available to be poached so they can potentially get on an active roster elsewhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giuseppe Tognarelli Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 But I'm thinking about testing protocols and stuff and just not wanting to bring people in from other organizations. I kind of expect a tribal mentality this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 1 hour ago, RoyBatty is alive said: There will be plenty of poaching, that is for teams that have a competent GM. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Joshin' Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 19 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said: But I'm thinking about testing protocols and stuff and just not wanting to bring people in from other organizations. I kind of expect a tribal mentality this year. Can not remember where I read it but I thought it was going t take 3-5 days to bring a player onto your team with testing and quarantine procedures. This may slow down the poaching. i would still expect good teams to be planning on how to take advantage of the new practice squad sizes. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaw66 Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 58 minutes ago, Giuseppe Tognarelli said: But I'm thinking about testing protocols and stuff and just not wanting to bring people in from other organizations. I kind of expect a tribal mentality this year. All the medical data will be shared, including testing data. Even with delays, teams will go after the talent they need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyBatty is alive Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Kirby Jackson said: LOL, Yeah i dont think the Texans will be very active poaching players. The active poacher is going to be Belichek. He is well organized, i bet he has a grade on almost a very players in the NFL AND he has a lot of whole this year to fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding Bills Blue Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 43 minutes ago, Just Joshin' said: Can not remember where I read it but I thought it was going t take 3-5 days to bring a player onto your team with testing and quarantine procedures. This may slow down the poaching. i would still expect good teams to be planning on how to take advantage of the new practice squad sizes. I mean - players will get moved. It happens every year. And 90% of those guys end up on someone else's PS later. The 3 week pay bump is huge for younger players on practice squads, and it gives you a chance to win a job with another team. Buffalo has a couple of decent WRs that likely hit the practice squad. But considering over 30 WRs were drafted, and even more UDFA's were signed - it's still going to be hard to find 1 of about 160 jobs. I do think PS guys with NFL experience - whether on a veteran or rookie deal - will be more coveted though. Most of these guys are brought in as injury replacements. If a team has a serious covid situation i think we're more likely to see a game cancelled or postponed somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimS Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 But, if someone puts in a claim, the player can still be elevated to the 53 and kept, right? (Of course after making room for them.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Landing Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 On 8/24/2020 at 7:22 AM, Estro said: And don't forget they steal only protected after Tuesday. Even the protected practice squad players can be poached on Mondays, so no one is truly protected. It reminds me of an Onion headline I read once: "23 Hour Suicide Watch a Failure." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoBills Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, JimS said: But, if someone puts in a claim, the player can still be elevated to the 53 and kept, right? (Of course after making room for them.) I'm going to check on the new CBA about this (especially with the new Covid rules changes to the PS and the new "elevation" rules). My understanding always was that a player is not "claimed" a player is "signed" which is a choice on his part. 99% of the time of course a player will sign with the new team BUT I don't believe he HAS to. So if a player is offered a contract from another team the current team could offer a contract but it's still the players choice. It's one reason some PS guys now are getting paid way over the minimum of PS money to stay with their team instead of jumping ship to another team for potentially only 3 weeks. I'm curious if the Bills do this with some of their PS guys this year. Edited August 25, 2020 by ColoradoBills 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Can you change which 4 are protected during the course of the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoBills Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 2 minutes ago, matter2003 said: Can you change which 4 are protected during the course of the season? Yes. Teams submit a new list every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 On 8/24/2020 at 10:12 AM, RoyBatty is alive said: There will be plenty of poaching, that is for teams that have a competent GM. Some are predators. Some are prey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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