Scout team
Encyclopedia
In sports, the scout team, also referred to as a practice team, taxi squad, practice squad or practice roster, is a group of players on a team whose task is to emulate future opponents for the featured (or starting) players. Frequently used in American
or Canadian Football
, these teams consist of less athletically developed or less skilled players. However, unlike a traditional scrimmage
, scout teams often have to learn a variety of different football playbook
s in order to simulate the tendencies of future opponents.
,teams often use the scout team to develop younger players to replace the current starters when they later leave the school. Thus, in college, players on the scout team often include redshirt scholarship
athletes, those unable to compete in games because of transfer rules (common in Division I FBS football), and walk-ons.
s who were cut in training camps and borderline NFL-caliber players. Both rookies and young veterans are eligible for the practice squad. However, a player cannot participate on the practice squad for more than three seasons, or if he has accrued a year of NFL experience (six or more games on a club's 53-man active roster or official Injured Reserve
list.) 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.
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: The minimum salary from 2008 to 2010 is $5,200 per week (2008-2010) for 17 weeks, or $88,400 per season, in comparison to the NFL minimum rookie salary of $285,000. 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.
Players can be promoted to the active roster of their current team or to that of any other team. They have free agent
status and can sign with any team they wish without compensation to the original team, if they are released from the practice squad. Additionally, the NFL has a program through which foreign players may be assigned to teams' practice squads, called the International Practice Squad Program
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
or Canadian Football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, these teams consist of less athletically developed or less skilled players. However, unlike a traditional scrimmage
Scrimmage
A scrimmage, or exhibition game, is an informal sports contest or practice match engaged in for practice purposes which does not go on the regular season record. Scrimmage may also refer to:* Line of scrimmage, in American football and related games...
, scout teams often have to learn a variety of different football playbook
Playbook
Playbook may refer to:*A book that contains a script or story for a theatrical play. This written version of the composition is used in preparing for a performance**Fleury Playbook, a medieval playbook kept in a French abbey until the French Revolution...
s in order to simulate the tendencies of future opponents.
College football
In college athleticsCollege athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
,teams often use the scout team to develop younger players to replace the current starters when they later leave the school. Thus, in college, players on the scout team often include redshirt scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
athletes, those unable to compete in games because of transfer rules (common in Division I FBS football), and walk-ons.
National Football League
Each NFL team may keep up to eight members on its "practice squad" in addition to the 53-member main roster. They consist mostly of rookieRookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
s who were cut in training camps and borderline NFL-caliber players. Both rookies and young veterans are eligible for the practice squad. However, a player cannot participate on the practice squad for more than three seasons, or if he has accrued a year of NFL experience (six or more games on a club's 53-man active roster or official Injured Reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
list.) 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.
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: The minimum salary from 2008 to 2010 is $5,200 per week (2008-2010) for 17 weeks, or $88,400 per season, in comparison to the NFL minimum rookie salary of $285,000. Some practice squad players are paid considerably more, however. In 2006, the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
paid third-year player Billy Yates the full $425,000 he would have earned on the active roster.
Players can be promoted to the active roster of their current team or to that of any other team. They have free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
status and can sign with any team they wish without compensation to the original team, if they are released from the practice squad. Additionally, the NFL has a program through which foreign players may be assigned to teams' practice squads, called the International Practice Squad Program
International Practice Squad Program
The International Practice Squad Program is an initiative run by the National Football League in which selected players from outside the United States or Canada are assigned to the practice squads of NFL teams. The program began operation in 2004...
.