NFL practice squad eligibility, rules: Kansas City Chiefs edition

The Kansas City Chiefs roster cuts were on Saturday where they trimmed their roster down to 53 players and now they will have the opportunity to bring back many of the players they just cut onto their 10-man practice squad.

How many players are on the practice squad?

Ten players. It used to be eight but now it's 10.

Who is eligible for the practice squad?

All rookies are. Most first year players are and some second year players are. There are situations where those who have been in the league longer are still eligible. It will be made up mostly of young players. Players must meet one of the following to be practice squad eligible:

• Have no prior Accrued Seasons in the NFL (An accrued season is six or more games on the active roster);
• Have one prior Accrued Season in which the player was on the 45-man active roster for no more than 8 games;
• Each club will be permitted to sign a maximum of 2 Practice Squad players who have earned no more than 2 accrued seasons of free agency credit;
• If served two seasons on a practice squad, are eligible for a third season only if the team has at least 53 players on its active/inactive list for the duration of that player's employment.
• A player has served one season on the practice squad if he is on the practice squad for at least 6 games. The rule previously required 3 games on the practice squad roster.

Can they be moved to the active 53-man roster?

Yep, they can be moved to the active roster at any point. In the past two years the Chiefs have seen a future contributor on their practice squad. WR Frankie Hammond and TE Demetrius Harris were on the Chiefs 2013 practice squad while RB Charcandrick West was on the Chiefs initial 2014 practice squad (as was WR Fred Williams).

How much are they paid?

It's a minimum of $6,600 per week which ... yeah, not bad work if you can get it. Teams can pay higher salaries to practice squad players to get them to stay on their team.

Can teams sign practice squad players from other teams?

Yes, they can. However, that player must be moved to the active roster. So if the Chiefs put Mike Catapano on the practice squad, the Raiders could come in and offer Catapano a deal. If he accepted, he would have to be paid for at least three weeks of active roster time on the Raiders. They can be released before those three weeks but must be paid for that time. Because they're taking up an active roster spot it's often difficult to justify signing another team's practice squad player so that doesn't happen often. But it does happen, such as Chiefs CB Jamell Fleming. He was on the Ravens practice squad last year and the Chiefs signed him. Next week, he will be among the Chiefs starting cornerbacks.

Who will make the Chiefs practice squad?

We will find out after 12 p.m. (Arrowhead Time) on Sunday afternoon.

Here's a prediction on who could make it:

WR Fred Williams

WR Da'Ron Brown

RB Spencer Ware

OL Daniel Munyer

OT Jarrod Pughsley

C Eric Kush

DE Mike Catapano

DL David Irving

OL Garrett Frye

DT Hebron Fangupo

Generally you want to keep any young players with promise. You also need to consider your own depth chart because these players can be promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. So if you're light on defensive linemen on the active roster, you might carry an extra one on the practice squad.

Here are the Chiefs other Saturday roster cuts:

LB James-Michael Johnson

LB Ja'Gared Davis

OT Derek Sherrod

S Sanders Commings*

DB Deji Olatoye

RB Darrin Reaves

TE Ryan Taylor

*He was reportedly waived / injured so if that's the case he would come back to IR once he clears waivers.