From Practice Squad, to NFL Starters

The Practice Squad is an 8 man scout team that is a seperate roster than the 53 man team. To be signed to the practice squad, you must A. be a free agent, and B. have less that 1 accrued season of NFL work (One season on a 53 man roster, one season on IR, etc.) When you are on the practice squad you can not be on the squad for longer than three years. The minimum payment for a PS member is $5,200 until 2010. Out side of that, a the league may allow teams to carry one more player, usually that of an overseas player (The Packers carried Carl Johan-Bjork from Sweden on their PS for the 2007 season) Usually the players on the PS are overlooked, seen as players that have little to no shot in the NFL, but sometimes there are players that go fromthe Practice Squad, to NFL stardom.

The life of a player on an NFL practice squad surely isn't something glamorous, you sit there watching players like Vernon Davis set the mark for richest TE in NFL history without taking a snap, and you get paid little to nothing comparitively, even compared to the Undrafted Free Agents that made the squad you make a miniscule amount. It all depends on how you percieve the fact that you are on the practice squad, for some it may be harder than others, say players that were of the 255 drafted and then deemed not worthy enough of the 53 man roster, that could be disheartening, but some players see it as a blessing in disguise. An NFL agent who tries to keep players hopes up on the practice squad said it best when he said "Their worst day on a practice squad is better than their best day at Wal-Mart"


Here is a list of players that have gone from practice squads to NFL starters in their careers. (Starters on rosters this year, whether by earning it, or getting it because of injury. [K's, P's, LS's not included])

Corey McIntyre – FB – Buffalo Bills: UDFA out of WVU
Jason Peters – LT – Buffalo Bills: UDFA out of Arkansas

Atari Bigby – SS – Green Bay Packers: UDFA out of Central Florida
Tramon Williams – CB – Green Bay Packers: UDFA out of Louisiana Tech
John Kuhn – FB – Green Bay Packers: UDFA out of Shippensburg
Al Harris – CB – Green Bay Packers: 6th Round pick out of Texas A&M Kingsville
Scott Wells – C – Green Bay Packers: 7th Round pick out of Tennessee
Ryan Grant – RB – Green Bay Packers: UDFA out of Notre Dame

Anthony Herrera – OG – Minnesota Vikings: UDFA out of Tennessee
Naufahu tahi – FB – Minnesota Vikings: UDFA out of Brigham Young

Chuck Darby – NT – Detroit Lions: UDFA out of South Carolina State
Paris Lenon – LB – Detroit Lions: UDFA out of Richmond
Jon Kitna – QB – Detroit Lions: UDFA out of Central Washington

Hunter Hillenmeyer – LB – Chicago Bears: 5th round pick out of Vanderbilt
Jason McKie – FB – Chicago Bears: UDFA out of Temple

Greg Camarillo – WR – Miami Dolphins: UDFA out of Stanford
Yeremiah Bell – S – Miami Dolphins: 6th round pick out of Eastern Kentucky
Casey Cramer – FB – Miami Dolphins: 7th round pick out of Darmouth

Shaun Smith – DL – Cleveland Browns: UDFA out of South Carolina

Billy Yates – G – New England Patriots: UDFA out of Texas A&M

Brandon Moore – G – New York Jets: UDFA out of Illinois
Tony Richardson – FB – New York Jets: UDFA out of Auburn

Carey Davis – FB – Pittsburgh Steelers: UDFA out of Illinois
James Harrison – LB – Pittsburgh Steelers: UDFA out of Kent State
Ryan Clark – S – Pittsburgh Steelers: UDFA out of LSU

Kevin Walter – WR – Houston Texans: 7th round pick out of Eastern Michigan
Vonta Leach – FB – Houston Texans: UDFA out of East Carolina
Mike Brisiel – G – Houston Texans : UDFA out of Colorado State
Chris Myers – C – Houston Texans: 6th round pick out of Miami
Demarcus Faggins – CB – Houston Texans: 6th round pick out of Kansas State

Daniel Federkeil – OT – Indianapolis Colts: UDFA out of Calgary
Gijon Robinson – FB/TE – Indianapolis Colts: UDFA out of Missouri Western State

Paul Spicer – DE – Jacksonville Jaguars: UDFA out of Saginaw Valley State

Tony Brown – DT – Tennessee Titans: UDFA out of Memphis

Casey Weigmann – C – Denver Broncos: UDFA out of Iowa
Andre Hall – RB – Denver Broncos: UDFA out of South Florida

Damon Huard – QB – Kansas City Chiefs: UDFA out of Washington

Cornell Green – OL – Oakland Raiders: UDFA out of Central Florida
Luke Lawton – FB – Oakland Raiders: UDFA out of McNeese State
Ricky Brown – LB – Oakland Raiders: UDFA out of Boston College
Hiram Eugene – FS – Oakland Raiders: UDFA out of Louisiana Tech

Jeromey Clary – OT – San Diego Chargers: 6th round pick out of Kansas State
Kris Dielman – OG – San Diego Chargers: UDFA out of Indiana
Jyles Tucker – OLB – San Diego Chargers: UDFA out of Wake Forest
Clinton Hart – S – San Diego Chargers: UDFA out of Central Florida C.C.

Patrick Crayton – WR – Dallas Cowboys: 7th round pick out of NW Oklahoma State

Derrick Ward – RB – New York Giants: 7th round pick out of Ottawa

Jamaal Jackson – C – Philadelphia Eagles: UDFA out of Delaware State

Brent Grimes – CB – Atlanta Falcons: UDFA out of Shippensburg
Harvey Dahl – OL – Atlanta Falcons: UDFA out of Reno-Nevada
Tyson Clabo - OL – Atlanta Falcons: UDFA out of wake Forest

Jake Delhomme – QB – Carolina Panthers: UDFA out of Louisiana-Lafayette

Kevin Kaesviharn – S – New Orleans Saints: UDFA out of Augustana

Donald Penn – OT – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: UDFA out of Utah State
Earnest Graham – RB – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: UDFA out of Florida
Jovan Haye – DT – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6th round pick out of Vanderbilt

Antonio Smith – DE – Arizona Cardinals: 5th round pick out of Oklahoma State

Dan Kreider – FB – St. Louis Rams: UDFA out of New Hampshire
Chris Draft – LB – St. Louis Rams: 6th round pick out of Stanford
Fakhir Brown – CB – St. Louis Rams: UDFA out of Grambling

Tony Wragge – G – San Francisco 49er’s: UDFA out of New Mexico State

Brian Russell – S – Seattle Seahawks: UDFA out of San Diego State


So who's the next great practice squader?