The practice squad can be a fluid situation of players moving on and off rosters as teams tweak things throughout the year. And with the expansion from 10 to 16 players, plus the flex option that increases game-day rosters to 55 with the promotion of two practice squaders weekly, it feels like things are always in motion.
To that end, we’ll see things like this from time-to-time:
Per Dan Campbell, the Lions are signing LB Josh Woods off the Bears’ practice squad.
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) September 23, 2021
Lead immediately to corresponding moves such as this:
#Bears roster move:
We have signed LB Rashad Smith to the practice squad.— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) September 23, 2021
The Lions are signing linebacker Josh Woods off the Bears’ practice squad and onto their active roster. Detroit’s rebuilding squad must’ve liked something they’ve seen from Woods, who has 25 games under his belt since debuting in 2019. Woods was a core special teams player in Chicago last year, getting in on 60 percent of the team’s third-phase snaps. But with Alec Ogletree, Christian Jones, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, and Caleb Johnson backing up Roquan Smith — and Danny Trevathan eligible to return from IR as early as Week 4 — Woods was the odd-man out.
And with the newfound practice squad space, the Bears are bringing in Rashad Smith. Chicago had Smith in training camp last year after signing the Florida Atlantic product after going undrafted in 2020. The Bears tried stashing him on last year’s practice squad, but the Cowboys signed him away last September. Smith never suited up in Dallas, instead landing in Philly and debuting for the Eagles in Week 14 last year. After spending some time on practice squads in Philadelphia and San Francisco, Smith returns to Chicago where it all began. Clearly, the Bears must like what they see to bring him back. And because there is no such thing as having too much depth, it’s nice to have him back.
