Practice squad 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 . High school football . High school teams will normally use their junior varsity team as a scout team to prepare for their weekly opponents . College football . In college athletics , 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 - on s . 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 rookie 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 , 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 . 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 . In 2012 the minimum salary for a practice squad player is / was $ 5700 , and the minimum rookie salary in 2012 is / 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 . Practice squad players are free agent s ; they can be signed to any team ' s 53 - man roster at any time during the season . In other words , NFL teams are free to " poach " other teams ' practice squads without compensating the teams . Additionally , the NFL has a program through which foreign players may be assigned to teams ' practice squads , called the International Practice Squad Program .