:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45796570/usa-today-7172814.0.jpg)
The NFL roster rules are currently pretty set in stone. In the offseason, training camp, and much of preseason, teams can have a 90-player roster, giving more players an opportunity. During the season, the rosters at set at 53-players. On gamedays, teams can dress 46 active players for the game. And practice squads now have ten players, which was recently increased from eight players. That's the way that the roster rules are currently structured, but there might be some changes to the roster coming soon.
Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reports that the NFL is considering expanding in-season rosters from 53 players to 55 players.
Opposition to larger rosters previously came from the fact that more than a few teams were having trouble staying under a salary cap that was flat and/or "smoothing." In recent years, the salary cap has been increasing more quickly. Coupled with the impact of the rookie wage scale on the market for veterans (many are paid less and less because quality rookies are cheaper than ever), there's plenty of extra cash available under the cap to pay two more players per team.
Furthermore, Florio reports that the NFL is considering doing away with the inactive list for Thursday night games and instead allowing all 53 players to be active for Thursday games.
Per a league source, the possible solution is the removal of the inactive list for Thursday Night Football. If that happens, teams would dress all 53 players on Thursday night games, with no players on the inactive list.
Firstly, adding two additional players to the in-season roster would indeed give more players a chance to make a regular season roster, though it likely wouldn't impact the game too much. The NFL possibly doing away with the inactive list for Thursday night games is intriguing and could have an impact by getting more players in the game and this in particular could help on a short week, but this too isn't likely to have a huge impact on the game.
What are your thoughts on these possible changes to the roster rules by the NFL? Would you be in favor of them?