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Practice squad expansion means more New Orleans Saints are eligible to stick around after cuts | NOLA.com

Practice squad expansion means more New Orleans Saints are eligible to stick around after cuts

Evan Woodbery, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Evan Woodbery, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Rosters around the league are about to get smaller, but the practice squad will soon offer a lifeline to unemployed players.

The New Orleans Saints will cut down their roster from 86 to 75 players no later than Tuesday afternoon. Many NFL teams began announcing their cuts on Sunday.

The final 53-man roster must be named by Monday, after the fourth preseason game.

Once the dozens of players pass through waivers, the Saints will offer some of them jobs on the practice squad.

The NFL expanded the maximum size of the practice squad from eight to ten players this month, and also tweaked the eligibility rules in a way that could help some players (and teams).

Saints practice-squad eligible players, Aug. 25, 2015
Rookies (19)
1. C Matt Armstrong
2. WR Brandon Coleman
3. WR Brandin Cooks
4. ILB Todd Davis
5. CB Brian Dixon
6. OLB Kasim Edebali
7. OLB Khairi Fortt
8. TE Nic Jacobs
9. CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
10. WR Seantavius Jones
11. QB Logan Kilgore
12. OLB Ronald Powell
13. OT Tavon Rooks
14. RB Derrick Strozier
15. S Vinnie Sunseri
16. DE George Uko
17. NT Lawrence Virgil
18. S Pierre Warren
19. S Ty Zimmerman

Eligible non-rookies (16)
20. S Marcus Ball
21. CB Derrius Brooks
22. K Derek Dimke
23. OT Manase Foketi
24. CB Terrence Frederick
25. WR Charles Hawkins
26. DE Rufus Johnson Jr.
27. FB Austin Johnson
28. LB Kyle Knox
29. OT Ty Nsekhe
30. OT Jason Weaver
31. OG Senio Kelemete
32. LB Kevin Reddick
33. CB Rod Sweeting
34. WR Nick Toon
35. OT Marcel Jones

Special exception players (limit 2 on the 10-man squad) (13)
36. OT Terron Armstead
37. DT Glenn Foster
38. QB Ryan Griffin
39. TE Josh Hill
40. NT John Jenkins
41. C Tim Lelito
42. RB Khiry Robinson
43. WR Kenny Stills
44. S Kenny Vaccaro
45. RB Travaris Cadet
46. OT Bryce Harris
47. DE Akiem Hicks
48. CB Trevin Wade

Here are the rules, and the changes:
• Players may spend no more than three seasons on a practice squad. That hasn't changed. But a practice squad season now only counts when a player is on the squad for six games, up from three.

• Generally, players are no longer practice squad eligible once they accrue a season in the NFL for free-agency purposes (or they must have appeared in fewer than nine games on the 46-man active roster in the accrued season(s)). Under the new changes, teams may now have two players who have accrued two NFL seasons (but no more than that).

If that sounds confusing, it is, especially because information on accrued seasons and weeks spent on the practice squad isn't as easy to locate as touchdowns and yards gained.

But based on our interpretation of the new rules, the Saints have a whopping 48 players who are practice-squad eligible, including 13 who wouldn't have been eligible under the old rules.

Some explanation is in order for some of the more complex cases: For example, receiver Nick Toon has two accrued NFL seasons, but I don't think he would have to make the squad under a special exception. One of his accrued seasons was spent on the injured reserve and in the other he appeared on the active 46-man roster in only eight games.

That doesn't mean Toon or any of the other veterans will land on the practice squad. All players have to pass through waivers, meaning the Saints risk losing anyone they cut to other teams.

But it's worth keeping an eye on this list as the cuts start to hit in the coming days -- or hours.