NFL rules question (1 Viewer)

[Yenrub]

I know that the roster size is 53 plus a few on the practice squad. Not sure how many on the practice squad.

How many of the 53 can be active on game day? If it’s not 53 what is the number and why is it not 53?

 

[SSOG]

I know that the roster size is 53 plus a few on the practice squad. Not sure how many on the practice squad.How many of the 53 can be active on game day? If it’s not 53 what is the number and why is it not 53?

53 players on the roster, 8 players on the practice squad. The practice squad only used to be 5 players, but it was just expanded last season.45 of the 53 players on the roster are activated on game days. In addition, the team can designate one of its 8 inactives as their "emergency QB" if they so desire. If their emergency QB receives a single snap, neither their first nor second string QBs are allowed to re-enter the game (so obviously you won't see the emergency QB unless the first and second stringers are both out for the game).The reason only 45 of the 53 players are active on any given Sunday is injuries. The thinking is that an injury-free team will have a competitive advantage over a team with several injuries, because they will have more players on game day. Reducing the active roster to 45 reduces this advantage, since it's *very* rare that teams will not have at least 45 healthy players on their team. The only instance I can ever remember of a team not being able to activate 45 players was Tennessee vs. Denver in 2004- the Titans only had 42 or so active players for that game.

 

[Winston Wolfe]

I know that the roster size is 53 plus a few on the practice squad. Not sure how many on the practice squad.How many of the 53 can be active on game day? If it’s not 53 what is the number and why is it not 53?

There are 45 players on the active roster on game day. 8 players are declared inactive. As for why, I don't know, but that is the rule.