Practice squad

[Hammer of Thor]

The act of waiving him basically voids his deal. Whatever guarantees he was owed are still valid, but the general contract is considered terminated. And since players have to be waived/cut in order to be signed to the PS, there's no way to transfer that contract. I may be wrong, but I think there are limits on how much a player can be paid on the PS to avoid teams circumventing the salary cap (since PS players don't count against it).

Just to clarify, the salary cap does count against a team’s salary cap. Additionally, the latest CBA added rules which limited the salary a player can earn on the practice squad, as you said, but it wasn’t for salary cap purposes since it does count against the cap. In the past, teams could pay players as if they were on the active roster - and the Patriots used to do that as an incentive to prevent the guys they wanted from signing with other teams active rosters. Can’t do that anymore.

 

[Family]

I watched the tape, previously responded to you in detail, and even posted play by play picture snapshots to explain Sow looked solid at Green Bay. If Sow looked bad at Green Bay, like you keep stating, Sow would not have started against the Titans. When Sow started against the Titans, you should have reassessed your Green Bay analysis.

Sorry I mixed up Green Bay and Titans game. They were both such bad performances by the team in general.

I meant watch the Titans game. Sow looked horrible.

 

[Sciz]

Certainly hadn't heard about the "Protected" status. Are these ever announced?

Practice squad protection was one of the Covid rules for 2020 and 2021. It was not in effect last year and will not be this year. There’s a lot of inaccurate information out there on this topic.

(It’s mostly irrelevant as players were unprotected Monday and Tuesday each week. The Patriots only used it once, the final regular season game of the 2021 season.)

 

[Batman]

FIrst reactions. So many of our own guys. Lots of other guys out there who seemed more interesting than what we've got. Where is the vet QB. Where is the TE. Did the Miami rookie TE Tucker something go back to their PS? Was Kuntz really THAT bad/ Was some guy named Pharaoh really the best we could do? Ah well back to work.

I think the thing this year is that waivers closed at 12 and practice was at 1.30, the ravens PS was all guys they cut too. So unless you were making a move for a vet cut before the cut downs they likely didn't have time to get to Foxbourgh. I expect we will see some movement on this PS and 53 over the weekend when they have had a chance to sit down and see who cleared waivers, who is on other teams practice squads and they have made assessments.

One of my best friends is a Ravens fan, their whole PS was guys they waived too so it seems very much a product of timing and desire to have as close to 69 guys on the field for practice rather than an indication of what they want.

 

[Triumph]

Best value for a backup QB in the league!

Pats need the cap space for Jones blockbuster contract.

Mahomes type money might do it.

 

[Bill Lee]

The act of waiving him basically voids his deal. Whatever guarantees he was owed are still valid, but the general contract is considered terminated. And since players have to be waived/cut in order to be signed to the PS, there's no way to transfer that contract.

I agree. Waivers (American football) - Wikipedia says a player that is not claimed on waivers becomes a free agent. It is as if the team released him, so all the rules that apply when you release a player also apply here. As you point out, the player gets paid any guaranteed money, and any money that is on the cap for future bonuses accelerates.

True, but unless the CBA prohibits it, his rookie contract can be reinstated if the Pats and Zappe agree.

Not exactly. The salaries on the PS are fixed per the CBA. If/when he gets promoted to the 53, he can get any contract the two sides agree to. One would think the old contract would be the starting point, but the Pats have a lot of leverage if they chose to use it, they can cut him without penalty and call up Todd McSorley and tell him to put away the lawn mower and come to Foxborough. Same with AJ McCarron, etc. Of course Zappe has his own leverage since he's already up to speed on the system and he's in the building, but it's not like Zappe can make open ended demands. The Pats are going to be giving him a veteran contract at that point so they have to have a pretty good idea of where he fits in to the picture longer term.

As it turns out, Bill is saving a few dollars by cutting Zappe and putting him on the ps, at least for the time being.

I think in the short term Bill lost cash money on the deal, since they had to pay Zappe any remaining guarantees once he cleared waivers and became a FA. The amount is $650k according to goheels2202's post I quote below. I think the accelerated payment can be spread across two years on the cap, but I could be wrong about that. Longer term, Bailey Zappe says his old contract had an average salary of $1M so Bailey is losing money each week he's on the PS and not on the 53.

Well, he gets to keep his $650K signing bonus and his additional $650K guarantee in his first contract, Now he has a $216K Practice Squad contract. If he gets re-signed to the 53-man active roster to avoid waivers for being sent back down, they'll have to negotiate a new deal. Zappe may come out ahead in the short-term given the Pats' cap flexibility.

Seems correct to me.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Sorry I mixed up Green Bay and Titans game. They were both such bad performances by the team in general.

I meant watch the Titans game. Sow looked horrible.

Not sure what to say. Your mind is made up. Have a nice day.

 

[jdlboot14]

It will be interesting to see if Pitts emerges as what Thornton was supposed to be.

But for now, it seems Boutte and Pop have passed TT on the depth chart, and I don't know how he makes his way onto the active WR corp, let alone snaps on the field this year - unless 2 WR's have major injuries.

 

[Bill Lee]

24 players were claimed on waivers yesterday.

2023 NFL waiver wire claims: Team-by-team list of moves as Cardinals add six players, Texans land two ex-Bills

The full list of NFL waiver wire claims from Wednesday

www.cbssports.com

Seems to me the worry of losing a player to waivers is overstated. We were able to move pretty much every player we wanted to move onto our PS. The only one we seem to have lost, JJT, is because he didn't want to be on the PS (last I heard).

Some will claim this is because we don't have good depth, but I think that's false. Looking at the list, I think at this time of the season it's mostly about what the other team needs rather than what you have.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

It will be interesting to see if Pitts emerges as what Thornton was supposed to be.

But for now, it seems Boutte and Pop have passed TT on the depth chart, and I don't know how he makes his way onto the active WR corp, let alone snaps on the field this year - unless 2 WR's have major injuries.

Exposing Zappe and signing him to the PS was a calculated risk / gamble that paid off. It allowed the Patriots to retain some guys like Boutte that have some potential and could have been gobbled up by another team.

Frankly I am shocked that the Ravens did not grab Malik Cunningham; he seemed like an ideal backup to Lamar Jackson. I would like to think that BB was being super sneaky and devious by not showing the world much of what Malik could do at QB (except for the last quarter of the first pre-season game). I want to think that, and I want to believe that Malik will be used as a QB in sneak attack on a division rival (Miami would be ideal), but I was dismayed to hear that he was still practicing as a WR in camp after going to the PS.

So why is Malik not being groomed at his natural position? Maybe his arm is not accurate enough. Maybe game is so radically different that BoB cannot work him into his schemes. Maybe BB feels that a running QB will be quickly injured.

BTW, I watched Malik at Training Camp work out at WR and he looked really, really raw...as a WR...and I am being kind. He did not have the natural shiftiness of Parker, Bourne, or even Thornton....of course nobody had the shiftiness of Douglas.

 

[Bill Lee]

Exposing Zappe and signing him to the PS was a calculated risk / gamble that paid off. It allowed the Patriots to retain some guys like Boutte that have some potential and could have been gobbled up by another team.

That's an interesting way to look at it.

The standard way is to say if other teams claimed your players you must have a lot of depth, but this way suggests that if another team claims your players you're not very good at using the 53 to protect your keepers.

I observe this because I think it's clear the Pats have good depth, yet we lost no players to other teams via waiver claims.

 

[Bill Lee]

Another observation: The post-cutdown roster is almost exactly as expected, just with (PS) after some player's names.

It seems to me JJT is the only unexpected lost player.

 

[long distance]

candidate for 53 at some point one would think
if they dress him as they should people will start calling..

 

[captain stone]

Unless there's a ton of injuries I think Sow/Andrews will be permanent fixtures on the not suited up for the game list.

Jake Andrews? Then who's our game-day back-up Center?

 

[Family]

Jake Andrews? Then who's our game-day back-up Center?

For now, Russey will be promoted.

But you're right as the season goes on it could be Andrews.

 

[mike_usagisan]

For now, Russey will be promoted.

But you're right as the season goes on it could be Andrews.

Or Thanksdad.

 

[PatsFan2]

I KNEW it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Thanks Dad" have damaging pictures of the staff keeps them in his back pocket.

 

[DaBruinz]

Andrews is getting a little too much of a pass on this, not from you, but I read it everywhere.

Andrews was an UFA and won the center job. I think Stork started as a rookie, and there have even been others during Bill.

Andrews beat out Stork because Stork had mental issues.

Dave Andrews may have been a UDFA, but you're ignoring just how good of a C coming out of college he was despite his draft status.

 

[DaBruinz]

Started over whom? The team was seriously limited by injuries, and they decided to move Reiff to guard for unknown reasons. Everyone assumed it was because the team was high on Sow. Maybe they just wanted to see him in game situation, and the plan was for Reiff to be a swing backup behind Brown/Anderson, and he wanted some guard work.

As it turned out it looks like I was right about how the team feels about playing Sow in a real game NOW. They've done whatever they could to avoid him playing.

It's a HUGE assumption by you that you think that the addition of the 2 OTs is ONLY about Sow's ability. Especially when they put McDermott on Season ending IR and sent the entire time trying to get Steuber to learn LT (a position he'd never played before this year). And there is still no word on whether or not Reiff will end up on IR. If he does, THEN WHAT? DUH. The Pats would have had serious depth issues like they did last year. Maybe even worse.

You have no idea how the RT position is going to shake out with Sow, Wheatley, Lowe, and Anderson. Pretending like you do is futile.

 

[DaBruinz]

24 players were claimed on waivers yesterday.

2023 NFL waiver wire claims: Team-by-team list of moves as Cardinals add six players, Texans land two ex-Bills

The full list of NFL waiver wire claims from Wednesday

www.cbssports.com

Seems to me the worry of losing a player to waivers is overstated. We were able to move pretty much every player we wanted to move onto our PS. The only one we seem to have lost, JJT, is because he didn't want to be on the PS (last I heard).

Some will claim this is because we don't have good depth, but I think that's false. Looking at the list, I think at this time of the season it's mostly about what the other team needs rather than what you have.

It depends on the year and the quality of players a team is releasing. Look back at 2017, I think. Pats lost 4 guys to claims. Other years, like this one, hey lose none.

What is interesting, imho, is that the guys they cut during camp were almost always signed by someone else and rather quickly.