‘Unlimited amounts of work’: Practice squad life isn’t for faint of heart

Any kid who grew up wanting to be Michael Jordan or Tom Brady can appreciate what Chris Collier and Cam Miller are asked to do at Raiders headquarters.

Depending on who the team is playing that week, Collier can be Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley or any other opposing running back on the schedule.

Miller, on the other hand, is asked to mimic quarterbacks ranging from Jalen Hurts to Justin Herbert.

The two are part of an exclusive fraternity that toils in relatively obscurity on NFL practice squads. Their goal is to prepare that week’s starters by pretending to run the opposing offense and defense.

Miller, a rookie seventh-round pick out of North Dakota State, practiced as Bo Nix this week to get the Raiders ready for their “Thursday Night Football” game with the Broncos. He was Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence last week, and Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes two weeks before that.

Miller, like all Raiders practice squad players, aspires to be an NFL starter. For now, he’s setting aside those goals for the good of the team.

“It’s just doing everything you can to make sure the starters feel prepared and trying to give them the best look possible,” Miller said. “Trying to simulate whatever team we’re playing against that week to the best of your ability.”

Collier, a second-year running back out of Division II Lock Haven in Pennsylvania, believes his role has helped him improve.

“If anything, it makes you a more polished player,” Collier said. “I mean, you go against the No. 1 team every day, so you should be able to play once you get in.”

Practice squad players have to juggle a variety of interests every time they show up to the team facility. They’re an important, but overlooked, part of the fabric of the NFL.

“The easiest way to break it down would be, it’s anything and everything that the team needs you to do,” said Dalton Wagner, a third-year offensive tackle from Arkansas.

Bigger goal in mind

Of course, all practice squad players hope to one day be part of the 53-man roster.

Wagner wants to help the Raiders prepare each week. But he also has his own dreams.

“Every day, you’ve got to find something to improve at and figure out what it is that day that you’re gonna go through and go out and do,” Wagner said. “And in this setting, it’s judged against the best in the business. (Defensive end) Maxx Crosby is the best player I’ve ever seen in my life, and I think he’ll probably be the best player that you can see across most of the NFL. And every day that you get to block him, he’s obviously gonna win ‘em. He’s paid to do it. But it’s like, you get better every day that you try to do it, and that’s how you measure it. You measure it from the day before. Did I get better?”

Practice squad players have a busy work week.

They spend countless hours honing their craft and studying their playbook in case an opportunity arises. They also need to dive deep on that week’s foe so they can provide perfect imitations of opposing players for their teammates at practice.

Wagner has lost track of all the times he’s jumped back and forth across the line of scrimmage. One minute, he’s sparring with Crosby. The next, he’s over at defensive end trying to push fellow offensive linemen Stone Forsythe and DJ Glaze.

“Sometimes, I’ll play tight end. Sometimes, I’ll play jumbo tight ends. Or I’ll play both tackle spots,” Wagner said. “If you ever need a guard, you slide in there. You’re bouncing around for whatever the team needs. … On top of studying the tape, and as you’re watching the guys that are rushing and you’re studying to prepare (to block them) Sunday, you’re also studying them so you can give that look to DJ or to Stone.”

It’s one of the most difficult jobs on the team. Practice squad players barely get a physical or mental break throughout the week.

“Unlimited amounts of work,” said Collier, smiling. “Like, your workload is top notch.”

Practice squad basics

Many practice squad players, like Miller and Collier, are younger prospects that teams believe need more time to develop.

Clubs can keep 16 players on the practice squad, unless they have an exemption for an international player. Ten of those spots are for first- or second-year players, while six can go to players with any level of NFL experience.

Teams are also allowed to elevate two players from their practice squad to their 47-player game day roster each week. Players can only be elevated three times per season unless they’re moved to the 53-man roster.

Pay has improved for practice squad players in recent years, though they still get paid nowhere near what the league’s stars do.

This season, a player with two or fewer years of service in the NFL earns $13,000 per week on the practice squad, which amounts to $234,000 if they stay there the entire season. Players with more than two years of service can make between $17,700 and $22,000 per week.

The minimum salary for a player on the 53-man roster is $840,000 for a rookie and goes up based on years of service.

Being flexible

The NFL is a volatile business, especially for practice squad players.

They can be cut, promoted or poached at a given moment. They’re available at any time to a team willing to sign them to its 53-man roster.

Players find out fast they need to be as nimble as possible. That often means having flexible living conditions.

It’s a lesson Collier learned the hard way last year.

He made the Ravens’ practice squad as an undrafted free agent and signed a long-term lease for an apartment in Baltimore. He even bought furniture to spruce the place up.

Collier was waived in November, then signed to the Raiders’ practice squad two weeks later. That meant he had to move across the country and find a new place while paying rent for an apartment he no longer lived in.

“Oh boy, was that a life lesson,” Collier said.

He came out of the experience with a new personal rule. If a place requires anything more than a two-week notice to leave, Collier is not interested. That’s why he’s in an Airbnb this season instead of an apartment.

“God forbid, if I have to go, I’m able to just pack up and leave,” Collier said. “It really was a life lesson. Hey, next time when I’m put in the same situation, scale back a little bit, don’t get too comfortable. The NFL is a crazy business. Very volatile. You can be here one day, then across the country the next day. And that’s really what happened to me.”

Wide receiver Alex Bachman, a longtime practice squad player that earned his way onto the Raiders’ 53-man roster, also looks for accommodations that let him “get up and leave” if need be.

He even keeps his car in his home state of California each season and works out a deal with a local car rental company. That’s just life when players are trying to keep their NFL dreams alive on the practice squad.

“I have a rental car 24/7,” Bachman said. “For my living, it’s all situational.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.