The LA Chargers trimmed the roster from 90 players to 53 on Tuesday and had to make a lot of tough decisions in the process. Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz's first cut day with the Chargers was notable but all in all, fans are happy with the roster that has been put together.
While there are only 53 players on the active roster and only 48 of those players will be active on gameday, the actual number of players in the building is much larger. Each team is also allocated up to 17 players they can sign to the practice squad, shrinking the cut from 90 to 70.
These players are the reserves who are standing by in case of injury and who knows, someone may continue to blossom on the practice squad and make themselves an undeniable presence on the active roster. Crazier things have happened with the Chargers.
Full 2024 Chargers practice squad:
Player | Position |
|---|---|
Jaylen Johnson | WR |
Andrew Farmer | OLB |
Isaiah Spiller | RB |
Karsen Barnhart | G |
Luke Benson | TE |
Matt Hankins | CB |
Christopher Hinton | DL |
Cornelius Johnson | WR |
Robert Kennedy | CB |
Alex Leatherwood | OT |
Tre'Mon Morris-Brash | EDGE |
Shaq Quarterman | LB |
Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste | LB |
Tucker Fisk | TE |
CJ Okoye (IPP) | DL |
Chargers practice squad FAQs:
Can other teams sign players off the Chargers practice squad?
Yes. If there is someone on the Chargers practice squad that another team wants to sign then they have the full right to sign said player to the active 53-man roster. A practice squad player cannot be signed from one practice squad to another.
On the flip side, the Chargers have the same ability if there is someone on another practice squad who the team wants on the active 53-man roster.
Can practice squad players be protected from other NFL teams?
The NFL does allow teams to protect some practice squad players, but not all. Every week NFL teams are allowed to protect four practice squad players who cannot be signed to other teams.
The Chargers need to be smart about this and look to protect the four-best players on the practice squad every week. How Harbaugh and Hortiz will go about this remains to be seen.
Can practice squad players play on gameday?
Practice squad players can suit up for their team's active roster on game days but there are a limited number of times it can happen in a season. Teams are only allowed to elevate a practice squad player three times. Anything more than that and the player has to be signed to the 53-man roster.
Teams are allowed to elevate two practice squad players in every game, taking the active roster up to 55 for that given week. However, this does not increase the number of players who can actually be active (48).