The NFL, for many years, greatly restricted who was eligible to sign a contract to a practice squad. The COVID-19 pandemic forced their hand to greatly loosen those restrictions as talent availability became a major concern, and fortunately, they’ve left most of those changes in place.
That includes allowing any player to be eligible to sign to a practice squad no matter his level of experience. In doing so, it changed what the practice squad is, or what it can be. And the Pittsburgh Steelers have greatly needed that this year.
Now, teams can retain veteran, experienced players on practice squads, players who can step in and play right away with a certain level of expectation for quality of performance and discipline.