NFL postseason rules Pittsburgh Steelers fans should know

Just because the regular season has concluded, doesn’t mean NFL front offices are off the hook. There are no more major surgeries to be performed on rosters and depth charts; however, an NFL postseason roster still requires an occasional scalpel’s touch. 

Omar Khan and his ilk still need to clock in because beginning 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 10, all playoff teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers have several NFL playoff roster and acquisition rules they must adhere to. 

How many free agents can the Steelers sign during the postseason?

Once the postseason begins, teams are restricted from signing any more than four total free agents and are limited to no more than two in any given week. The purpose of this free agent allotment is to allow teams to compensate for injuries without being handicapped by a depleted roster or position group during the postseason.

Are the Steelers able to pilfer free agents from other playoff teams?

The answer is complicated. The Steelers and every other playoff team are only able to sign any free agent not currently under contract with a team. 

If a player gets claimed off the waiver wire, they are ineligible for playoff rosters.

If any player is released from the active roster they are still required to matriculate through the waiver wire, but don’t expect to see them on the field or in uniform this season. 

Players claimed off of waivers cannot be added to an active roster until after the Super Bowl. This rule maintains the integrity of the postseason and prevents situations where an eliminated team influences the outcome by releasing an impact player or impending free agent, who then gets claimed by an active playoff team.

If a player clears waivers, what happens?

Some players on the lower end of the depth chart totem pole will clear waivers. Once clearing waivers, players are able to sign with any team on the active roster or on the practice squad (or on a futures contract for non-playoff teams).

Last year, the that pushed the weekly deadlines for these transactions to 4 p.m. ET on game day before Saturday night kickoffs. 

What is the protocol for elevating or poaching practice squad players?

The bulk of the additions to postseason rosters will be players plucked from practice squad rosters. Practice squad movement mirrors the regular season in that they can be promoted to the active roster at any time without counting against their free agent allotment. 

Practice squad players’ contracts expire seven days after their team’s elimination from the postseason.  At that juncture they enter the free agent pool.

Can the Steelers activate players on injured reserve

Players on injured reserve can still return to the active roster once they are medically cleared as long as their team has not returned the maximum of eight players off of IR in a single season.

The Steelers for example have three players on IR who are eligible to be activated in rookie tackle Troy Fautanu, cornerback C.J. Henderson, and DeMarvin Leal. This season the Steelers have which means that theoretically, the Steelers could activate all three without exceeding the limit.