The one thing NFL teams really can’t have enough of is players. They’re what make the game go, and because the game happens to be brutal and unpredictable in a way that shortens careers and derails seasons, having capable reserves ends up mattering an awful lot.
The NFL hasn’t always been great about recognizing that, to put it mildly. They shoot players up with Toradol and send them back out there, and too many players play hurt because they fear for their jobs and their futures. That’s not exactly going to change by expanding rosters—players are always looking over their shoulders—but those players who would slide off rosters in late August and early September and the teams that wish they could keep them might like this latest report from Mike Garafolo.