The New England Patriots finalized their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday, but that was only the first step in building the team for the upcoming 2025 season. Another big part of this process will kick off on Wednesday at noon, when teams can start forming their 16-player practice squads.

All of the players released over the last few days — by both the Patriots and the league’s other 31 clubs — are potential candidates to get added to that group. It would therefore not be a surprise if New England’s practice squad eventually consists primarily of familiar names, who spent some if not all of training camp with the organization.

What exactly does all of that mean, though? And what is a practice squad to begin with? Glad you asked.

What is the practice squad?

Prior to the 2020 season, tea

See Full Page