2005 Rules Discussion - Taxi and Development Squad Official Proposal

[Nittany Dodgers]

Here is the text of the official proposal thus far. Also, as other references to the Development Squad in the current rules will be adjust to reflect the new name of the Taxi Squad:

6B. Taxi Squad

Each team will be allowed a 5 player Taxi Squad for players with 0-3 years of NFL experience (Players entering their 4th NFL season are NOT eligible for the Taxi Squad ). There is no Cyber Buck cap to the Taxi Squad, but there is a 20 year contract cap. Taxi Squad cyberbuck and contract year caps will not count against a team's regular cap unless a player is activated to the active roster.

Players on the Taxi Squad can be promoted to the active roster at any time the active roster can accommodate the salary and contract years.

Players can be demoted back to the Taxi Squad as long as they remain eligible for the Taxi Squad as defined in paragraph 1 of this section, and an open roster spot remains on the Taxi Squad. Also, players demoted back to the Taxi Squad receive a bonus to their current year salary based on the number of consecutive weeks on the active roster immediately prior to their demotion as set forth in the following scale. The bonus is immediate, and the following years performance bonuses and 10% increase are on top of the bonus:

1 week - 25 cb salary increase
2 weeks - 50 cb salary increase
3 weeks - 75 cb salary increase
4 weeks - 100 cb salary increase
5 weeks - 125 cb salary increase
6 weeks - 150 cb salary increase
7 weeks - 175 cb salary increase
8+ weeks - 200 cb salary increase:p:p

Multiple bonuses will be paid for multiple promotions/demotions in the same year. If a player is promoted, demoted, and promoted again, the consecutive weeks begins over again, and a second demotion will result in a second bonus being paid.:p:p

If a player is promoted to the active roster for any period of time, and subsequently cut, the team receives a full cap hit to their active roster salary cap for that player, regardless if the player was on the active roster or development squad at the time of the cut.:p:p

6C. Practice Squad

Each team will have a Practice Squad of no more than three players. There is no cyber buck, or contract cap to the Practice Squad. Practice Squad cyberbuck and contract year caps will not count against a team's regular cap unless a player is activated to the active roster.

Players on the Practice Squad can be promoted to the active roster at any time the active roster can accommodate the salary and contract years.

Players can only be placed on the Practice Squad from the annual rookie draft, and only 4^th round selections are eligible for the Practice Squad. Only one player per team can be placed on the Practice Squad each year, so if a team has acquired multiple 4^th round picks through compensation or trade, only one such pick would be eligible for the Practice Squad.

Once activated from the Practice Squad to either the Taxi Squad or the Active Roster, a player may never be placed back on the Practice Squad.

A player initially assigned to the Taxi Squad or the Active Roster cannot be placed on the Practice Squad. A player must be signed to the Practice Squad by the contract assignment deadline for the respective year to retain Practice Squad eligibility.

Players may not be traded from one teams Practice Squad to another team’s. Players are only eligible for the Practice Squad of the team that drafted them.

[Nittany Dodgers]

I wanted to start a new thread on this idea, so the official proposal could be the first post. I'll edit the official text to reflect any new ideas universally accepted to this idea. The following ideas were suggested in the previous thread, but since they were the last post, I'd like to see discussion before including them:

Liquid Swords prefer there be no max on the 25cb/week bonus paid, and also prefer that after 8 weeks a player is no longer eligible for the development squad. These two ideas are mutually exclusive, since if there is an 8 week max, after 8 weeks no bonus would be paid (since the player could no be demoted).

Let me know if there are any other ideas, or if there is something unclear in the way I've written the proposal.

Obviously, no matter what we end up deciding putting in the proposal, we'll have to have a league wide vote to accept it prior to the start of next seasons activities. I figured if we got input prior to then to flesh out all the issues, the yes no vote would be much simpler. So please, even if you are in opposition to adopting these ideas, please don't hesitate to suggest any ideas in fear that this would tie to you adopting the resolution as a whole.

[Philadelphia Freedom]

I like this but I would suggest that there be no limit to the number of players placed on the practice squad in a given year (as long as the max is not exceeded). Also, I am guessing that this rule will not be retroactive back to last years' draft since many of those 4th rounder are no longer with their team.

Also, by limiting this to the fourth round are we concerned that we are adding too much value to the 4th rounders? Last year there were 48 players off the board before the 4th round started.

[Preds]

Originally Posted by Philadelphia Freedom

I like this but I would suggest that there be no limit to the number of players placed on the practice squad in a given year (as long as the max is not exceeded). Also, I am guessing that this rule will not be retroactive back to last years' draft since many of those 4th rounder are no longer with their team.

Also, by limiting this to the fourth round are we concerned that we are adding too much value to the 4th rounders? Last year there were 48 players off the board before the 4th round started.

First off, Brian, I cleaned up some of the text in the 1st post to make the language consistent to what's being discussed (cutting and pasting missed some edits of the DS/TS/PS terminology... I believe it now reads the way you intended it to).

I have no issues with the Taxi Squad proposal as it sits on the table, personally I think an 8 week max on the demotion pay increase is OK, but the Swords suggestion of becoming a permenant member of the active roster after 8 weeks may have some merit.

As for the Practice Squad... I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, part of me likes it, and part of me thinks we're going to leave too much potential on the table for steals that can be locked up under contract for a LONG time. If this were to fly, I'd favor a 2 player max, and agree with Brian on limiting it to 4th rounders only, and only 1 per season. Further, I'd put a 3 year contract max on those players... at least that's what I'm thinking at the moment...

[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by Philadelphia Freedom

I like this but I would suggest that there be no limit to the number of players placed on the practice squad in a given year (as long as the max is not exceeded). Also, I am guessing that this rule will not be retroactive back to last years' draft since many of those 4th rounder are no longer with their team.

Also, by limiting this to the fourth round are we concerned that we are adding too much value to the 4th rounders? Last year there were 48 players off the board before the 4th round started.

Well, my thought by limiting the number of players you can place on the Taxi squad in a given year is in direct relation to your second point, a concern of overvaluing 4th round picks. If we had no limits on 4th rounders to the taxi squad, my concern would be creating a situation where teams go all RB in the 4th, looking for that home run. They can place them on the PS for a whole year, and see if they have a chance. If you can only place one per year, then you can't hoard 4th rounders, and stock up on sleeper RBs. That's my thought anyway.

[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by Preds

As for the Practice Squad... I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, part of me likes it, and part of me thinks we're going to leave too much potential on the table for steals that can be locked up under contract for a LONG time. If this were to fly, I'd favor a 2 player max, and agree with Brian on limiting it to 4th rounders only, and only 1 per season. Further, I'd put a 3 year contract max on those players... at least that's what I'm thinking at the moment...

Well, looking back at previous drafts, including 3rd rounders, I count no more than 3 players taken after the 2nd rounder that have become productive fantasy players (none in last years 4th round, but obviously it is too early to judge those picks). Obviously there are many more than still have potential, but many are already out of the picture as well.

My idea for this, and for limiting it to 4th rounders is rewarding teams for drafting well, and having a spot for true projects to be able to wait on their development without having to take up a valuable taxi squad spot.

The reason I like a three player Practice Squad is that would allow you to place a player there for three years, waiting for him to development, before you have another player that will need to take his spot. After the third year, each year you'll have to make a decision on guys and whether they are still worthy of waiting on. If it was two, we'd have to make those decisions that much sooner. Three is my preference, but if the majority prefered two, I'd be ok with that.

[Royal Hawaiian Opihi]

Okay... I'm going with the "the only stupid question is the one not asked" theory here...

But are we still keeping the Developmental Squad, too? So we'll have (if this gets passed) a Developmental Squad, a Taxi Squad, and a Practice Squad? Dang, we're going to have to start hiring administrative assistants next season, just to keep our players straight!

Or is the Taxi/Practice squad replacing the Developmental Squad (I'm guessing this is the correct interpretation here)... if this is the case, do the DS players automatically transfer to the TS (ie. grandfathered in, pending they still fit the req's?)? And will we be able to place one of our 2004 draftees on the PS, or does that only start from the 05 draft?

[Preds]

Originally Posted by Royal Hawaiian Opihi

Okay... I'm going with the "the only stupid question is the one not asked" theory here...

But are we still keeping the Developmental Squad, too? So we'll have (if this gets passed) a Developmental Squad, a Taxi Squad, and a Practice Squad? Dang, we're going to have to start hiring administrative assistants next season, just to keep our players straight!

Or is the Taxi/Practice squad replacing the Developmental Squad (I'm guessing this is the correct interpretation here)... if this is the case, do the DS players automatically transfer to the TS (ie. grandfathered in, pending they still fit the req's?)? And will we be able to place one of our 2004 draftees on the PS, or does that only start from the 05 draft?

The DS will transform into the TS. The PS is a whole differnet animal... just what we needed BTW, MORE acronyms!

[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by Royal Hawaiian Opihi

Okay... I'm going with the "the only stupid question is the one not asked" theory here...

But are we still keeping the Developmental Squad, too? So we'll have (if this gets passed) a Developmental Squad, a Taxi Squad, and a Practice Squad? Dang, we're going to have to start hiring administrative assistants next season, just to keep our players straight!

Or is the Taxi/Practice squad replacing the Developmental Squad (I'm guessing this is the correct interpretation here)... if this is the case, do the DS players automatically transfer to the TS (ie. grandfathered in, pending they still fit the req's?)? And will we be able to place one of our 2004 draftees on the PS, or does that only start from the 05 draft?

Just to add to Mike's comments, yes the current development squad would transform into the Taxi Squad, and all current members would gain the movement abilities the Taxi Squad affords. The Practice Squad would be a whole new addition, and my vision would be that only new 2005 draftees would be elligible, since I'm guessing not all teams have a 2004 4th rounder still on their roster, and allowing a backwards assinment would be unfair in that regard.

[Brain Dead Squirrel Chasers]

I'm sorry but I think I missed the discussion on the original idea or reasoning on why we need a taxi squad. Can someone give me the gist?

[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by Brain Dead Squirrel Chasers

I'm sorry but I think I missed the discussion on the original idea or reasoning on why we need a taxi squad. Can someone give me the gist?

I'd say it's not so much a need as a want. Here's the discussion thread from where the idea evolved. It's a lot to read, but summarization is not easy for my feeble mind.

http://www.predsff.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6039

[Philadelphia Freedom]

I am still for this.

[Flaxwless]

Sounds good to me.

[Mutts]

If we also introduce a practice squad, I can probably get on board with the taxi idea.

[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by Wonder Mutts

If we also introduce a practice squad, I can probably get on board with the taxi idea.

To me, the two ideas are linked. I'd propose them as a package deal.

Anyone disagree and think they should be proposed sperately?

[Liquid Swords]

yes, package deal!

[Ypsilanti Undead]

1. I don't see the need or sense in a cap on the salary increase. Either of the Swords' propsals (no cap, or cap the number of weeks after which a player can be returned to the TS) make more sense to me. Why would we want to limit the downside of re-demoting to the Taxi Squad? What do we gain from capping the penalty? Shouldn't we be more interested in limiting the upside of this new, powerful ability to promote and demote players as needed?

2. I like the 3-player, 1 per season limits on the PS just as proposed. For some reason, 3 just feels like the right number.

[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by Indiana Undead GM

1. I don't see the need or sense in a cap on the salary increase. Either of the Swords' propsals (no cap, or cap the number of weeks after which a player can be returned to the TS) make more sense to me. Why would we want to limit the downside of re-demoting to the Taxi Squad? What do we gain from capping the penalty? Shouldn't we be more interested in limiting the upside of this new, powerful ability to promote and demote players as needed?

Well, I see what you are saying, but I think we are trying to find a balance in limiting the ability to move players up and down willy nilly, but still having a useful tool to allow a little roster flexibility if need be. If there is no cap on the raises, the after a certain point it makes no sense to move a player down because the bonus you would have to pay is outrageous. Maybe there are other ways to limit the movement. I'm definitely open to suggestions.