Packers take advantage of recent NFL rules to bring veteran back and maximize roster flexibility
Wide receiver and return specialist Mecole Hardman is back.
On Tuesday, veteran wide receiver Mecole Hardman was gone. Now, he is back on the Green Bay Packers. A vested veteran, he didn’t need to go through waivers, and without major interest for his services around the league, Hardman signed with the Packers’ practice squad.
That’s a smart usage of a relatively recent roster tool by the Packers. The NFL adjusted practice squad eligibility rules during Covid, and now up to six players with unlimited experience can be placed on the practice squad.
More than that, the NFL has since allowed up to three elevations from the practice squad to the active roster for gameday. That means the Packers will be able to use Hardman in up to three regular season games, and he will revert back to the PS afterwards.
If the Packers make the playoffs and Hardman is still on the practice squad, he can be elevated without restrictions. However, any team can only elevate two players per game.
Financial implications
Another ramification of the Packers’ decision to release Mecole Hardman and bring him back to the practice squad is his salary and guarantees. Vested veterans (players with four or more accrued seasons in the NFL) have their base salaries guaranteed for the entire season when they are on the 53-man roster by Week 1.
Because Hardman will be on the practice squad, the guarantees do not apply. That means Green Bay can eventually promote him to the active roster, and if it cuts the player, there won’t be any extra dead money.
Mecole Hardman had signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Packers. He had up to $500k available via incentives based on playing time and touchdowns. With Green Bay’s decision to release him, there will be $150k in dead money, the signing bonus amount. That contract doesn’t exist anymore—it’s a new practice squad deal in place.
Waiver claims
It was a calm day for the Packers. The team did not claim anyone on waivers, and unlike last year, all players cut by Green Bay went unclaimed.
Reportedly, the Packers have already agreed to sign several players to the practice squad, including wide receivers Will Sheppard and Isaiah Neyor, plus tackle Brant Banks.
Green Bay Packers News
Packers sign 17 players to the practice squad with three external additions and two notable veterans included
Green Bay has intriguing decisions to make.
