In 2020 things are run differently than in years past. The practice squad roster is expanded to 16 players, including veterans, and four of those players can be protected on a week-to-week basis.
A player being labeled as protected means another team cannot poach them off the practice squad and add them to their active roster, like the Pittsburgh Steelers did by signing former draft pick Jerald Hawkins off the Houston Texans’ practice squad heading into Week 2.
Through two weeks, the Steelers’ protected payers have mainly remained the same.