<P> Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown invented the "taxi squad," a group of promising scouted players who did not make the roster but were kept on reserve . The team owner, Mickey McBride, put them on the payroll of his taxi company, although they did not drive cabs . </P> <P> As of 2017, each NFL team may keep up to ten members on its practice squad in addition to the 53 - member main roster . A majority of those on a practice squad are rookie draft picks and undrafted free agents (UDFAs) who were cut in training camps . A practice squad also includes veterans, up to four as of the 2016 season . Players may be signed to a practice squad for several reasons: for lack of space on the team, due to injury, or because they require more development . </P> <P> A player cannot participate on the practice squad for more than three seasons; he is 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, or have no prior accrued seasons in the NFL (an accrued season is six or more games on the active roster); or if he has accrued a year of NFL experience on a club's 53 - man active roster . If the player was on the active list for fewer than 9 games during their "only accrued season (s)", he maintains his eligibility for the practice squad . Games in which a player is listed as the third - string quarterback (a designation that has been abolished as of 2011) do not count as being on the active list . Former quarterback Mike Quinn, who was listed as the third - string quarterback for several teams throughout his career, is a notable example, being practice squad eligible during his 8th NFL season . </P> <P> Practice squad players practice alongside regular roster players during the week, but they are not allowed to play in actual games . They can be paid considerably less than active squad players; in 2012, the minimum salary for a practice squad player was $5,700 per week, and the minimum rookie salary was $390,000 . Some practice squad players are paid considerably more, however . In 2006, the New England Patriots paid third - year player Billy Yates the full $425,000 he would have earned on the active roster . </P>

What does it mean to be on a practice squad in the nfl