From 1978 to 2010 the NFL roster size was 45 players. What the league observed during that time was that teams would often have guys on their roster who were too dinged up to play but not so hurt that they would go to season-ending IR. So games were played by teams with fewer than 45 guys dressed on game day, which presented issues, not the least of which was the competitive advantage that a team with 44 healthy players had over a team with 39.
So they expanded the roster to 53 but restricted teams to dressing 45 a game. The idea was that even if a team had as many as 8 guys too dinged up to play that the teams would at least be playing each other with the same number of players.
Today the roster is still 53, but teams can call two guys up from the practice squad each game and have 48 players active (as long as 8 of them are OL). It all comes down to competitive balance as well as putting a watchable product on TV. Having those extra guys on the roster helps address both concerns.
I'm not sure havin a 53 man roster, being able to call up a couple guys from the practice squad, and having 48 guys active on game days are the right limits to set, but they have to be set somewhere. (In your opinion what
should the limits be?)
AlbaNY_Ram
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2022 01:34PM by AlbaNY_Ram.
