For Practice Squad players like Fenuki Tupou, now what?

Fenuki Tupou, OL, 6-5, 323, Oregon… in 2009 you’re the toast of the town, drafted at #159 in the 5th Round by the Eagles…you sign a sweet 4-year deal with the Eagles in 2009…get placed on the Injured Reserve list in September of 2009…get waived in September of 2010, basically forfeiting the “sweet” part of your original 4-year deal… almost immediately get re-signed to the Birds’ Practice Squad for 2010 at a huge discount to your original contract…and then get signed again to a future Practice Squad contract for 2011…

Based on the 1st Round selection of G/T Danny Watkins by the Eagles, does Fenuki Tupou have a right to feel like yesterday’s papers? And as a Practice Squad player, should he feel his days as an Eagles contract player are numbered?

Not that there’s anything wrong with being on the Practice Squad…just ask Danny Amendola. Or Colt Anderson…

So exactly what kind of compensation does a PS player receive?

To confirm Practice Squad salaries, this is pretty straightforward: “NFL Practice Squad players are paid $5,200 a week minimum, but teams may choose to pay them more if they’d like… This doesn’t usually happen. The players will also get small signing bonuses, usually in the area of a couple thousand bucks…” —Source: John Bena, Comcast “Inside The Red Zone”…

I know, it isn’t the goal of any player to end up on the PS… However, it keeps you visible to the team, lets you develop your skills, and opens the door for other teams to observe and give you a chance… So if a guy were a long shot, and was grateful for the chance to be in camp, it becomes a pretty fair deal… Some guys end up with long careers in the NFL after being on the PS a year… others, well, they just fade away… I know, to some, $5,200 a week doesn’t sound like much… but if you were on the PS for, say 18 weeks, that’s a $93K-a-year gig… plus the ongoing possibility of being called up to the 53-man roster… Like I said, it’s not the ultimate goal of any player, but it does provide some opportunities to get better and make a team at some point…which right now must look like a long shot to Fenuki Tupou…

There’s a bunch of guys in Tupou’s boat right now—guys who were not that long ago the spare cream of their respective draft crops—but have since disappeared into Practice Squad limbo. It’s got to be a bad feeling to these PS workers …but at least they’re still guys with a paycheck and a chance to make the big-time…

Here’s the current Roster list of all Eagles players, with some desperately hoping to avoid elimination in a few months—

Roster
No	Player	Pos	Height	Weight	Birthdate	Exp	College
95	Abiamiri, Victor	DE	6-4	267	01/14/1986	5	Notre Dame
45	Adams, Jamar	DB	6-2	215	11/29/1985	3	Michigan
2	Akers, David	K	5-10	200	12/09/1974	13	Louisville
29	Allen, Nate	DB	6-1	210	11/30/1987	2	South Florida
30	Anderson, Colt	DB	5-10	194	10/25/1985	2	Montana
81	Avant, Jason	WR	6-0	212	04/20/1983	6	Michigan
55	Bradley, Stewart	LB	6-4	258	11/02/1983	5	Nebraska
34	Buckley, Eldra	RB	5-9	207	06/23/1985	3	Chattanooga
97	Bunkley, Brodrick	DT	6-2	306	11/23/1983	6	Florida State
38	Calvin, Jorrick	DB	5-11	184	07/17/1987	2	Troy
87	Celek, Brent	TE	6-4	255	01/25/1985	5	Cincinnati
51	Chaney, Jamar	LB	6-0	242	10/11/1986	2	Mississippi State
63	Clark, Jeremy	DT	6-3	295	09/06/1983	2	Alabama
57	Clayton, Keenan	LB	6-1	229	06/19/1987	2	Oklahoma
58	Cole, Trent	DE	6-3	270	10/05/1982	7	Cincinnati
59	Cole, Nick	C	6-0	339	07/28/1984	6	New Mexico State
42	Coleman, Kurt	DB	5-10	195	07/01/1988	2	Ohio State
14	Cooper, Riley	WR	6-3	222	09/09/1987	2	Florida
90	Dixon, Antonio	DT	6-3	322	07/17/1985	3	Miami (Fla.)
46	Dorenbos, Jon	C	6-0	250	07/21/1980	9	Texas-El Paso
65	Dunlap, King	T	6-9	330	09/14/1985	4	Auburn
53	Fokou, Moise	LB	6-1	236	08/28/1985	3	Maryland
96	Gaither, Omar	LB	6-2	235	03/18/1984	6	Tennessee
54	Graham, Brandon	DE	6-1	268	04/03/1988	2	Michigan
16	Hall, Chad	WR	5-8	187	05/23/1986	2	Air Force
21	Hanson, Joselio	DB	5-9	185	08/13/1981	7	Texas Tech
82	Harbor, Clay	TE	6-3	252	07/02/1987	2	Southwest Missouri State
	Harper, Rod	WR	6-0	209	03/26/1985	2	Murray State
41	Harris, Antoine	DB	5-10	205	04/08/1982	5	Louisville
	Harrison, Brandon	DB	5-9	197	11/06/1986	R	Michigan
33	Harrison, Jerome	RB	5-9	205	02/26/1983	6	Washington State
	Havili, Stanley	RB	6-0	227	11/14/1987	R	Southern California
	Henery, Alex	K	6-2	177	08/18/1987	R	Nebraska
79	Herremans, Todd	T	6-6	321	10/13/1982	7	Saginaw Valley State
31	Hobbs, Ellis	DB	5-9	195	05/16/1983	7	Iowa State
68	Howard, Austin	T	6-7	333	03/22/1987	2	Northern Iowa
24	Hughes, Brandon	DB	5-10	188	05/23/1986	3	Oregon State
	Hunt, Phillip	LB	6-0	244	01/09/1986	R	Houston
88	Ingram, Cornelius	TE	6-4	250	06/10/1985	2	Florida
67	Jackson, Jamaal	C	6-4	325	05/08/1980	8	Delaware State
10	Jackson, DeSean	WR	5-10	175	12/01/1986	4	California
28	Jackson, Marlin	DB	6-0	196	06/30/1983	7	Michigan
	Jarrett, Jaiquawn	DB	6-0	196	09/21/1989	R	Temple
62	Jean-Gilles, Max	G	6-3	358	11/19/1983	6	Georgia
	Jeanty, Rashad	LB	6-2	243	04/17/1983	5	UCF
56	Jordan, Akeem	LB	6-1	230	08/17/1985	5	James Madison
74	Justice, Winston	T	6-6	320	09/14/1984	6	Southern California
3	Kafka, Mike	QB	6-3	225	07/25/1987	2	Northwestern
	Kelce, Jason	C	6-3	280	11/05/1987	R	Cincinnati
4	Kolb, Kevin	QB	6-3	218	08/24/1984	5	Houston
93	Laws, Trevor	DT	6-1	304	06/14/1985	4	Notre Dame
47	Lawson, Gerard	DB	5-10	195	01/12/1985	3	Oregon State
	Lewis, Dion	RB	5-7	193	09/27/1990	R	Pittsburgh
35	Lindley, Trevard	DB	5-11	183	02/02/1986	2	Kentucky
	Lloyd, Greg	LB	6-1	246	02/10/1989	R	Connecticut
18	Maclin, Jeremy	WR	6-0	198	05/11/1988	3	Missouri
	Marsh, Curtis	DB	6-0	194	03/01/1988	R	Utah State
	Matthews, Casey	LB	6-1	231	01/16/1989	R	Oregon
25	McCoy, LeSean	RB	5-11	208	07/12/1988	3	Pittsburgh
73	McCray, Bobby	DE	6-6	260	08/08/1981	7	Florida
77	McGlynn, Mike	T	6-4	315	03/08/1985	4	Pittsburgh
27	Mikell, Quintin	DB	5-10	203	09/16/1980	9	Boise State
	Moss, Sinorice	WR	5-8	185	12/28/1983	6	Miami (Fla.)
	Nalbone, John	TE	6-4	255	05/14/1986	1	Monmouth
64	Owens, Jeff	DT	6-1	304	10/14/1986	1	Georgia
75	Parker, Juqua	DE	6-2	250	05/15/1978	11	Oklahoma State
98	Patterson, Mike	DT	6-1	300	09/01/1983	7	Southern California
23	Patterson, Dimitri	DB	5-10	200	06/18/1983	6	Tuskegee
71	Peters, Jason	T	6-4	340	01/22/1982	8	Arkansas
66	Reynolds, Dallas	C	6-4	320	04/23/1984	1	Brigham Young
6	Rocca, Sav	P	6-5	265	11/20/1973	5	No College
	Rolle, Brian	LB	5-10	229	11/20/1988	R	Ohio State
22	Samuel, Asante	DB	5-10	185	01/06/1981	9	UCF
94	Sapp, Ricky	DE	6-4	252	11/14/1986	2	Clemson
32	Schmitt, Owen	RB	6-2	245	02/13/1985	4	West Virginia
61	Shipley, A.Q.	C	6-1	315	05/22/1986	1	Penn State
50	Sims, Ernie	LB	6-0	230	12/23/1984	6	Florida State
91	Tapp, Darryl	DE	6-1	270	09/13/1984	6	Virginia Tech
52	Te’o-Nesheim, Daniel	DE	6-3	263	06/12/1987	2	Washington
	Trufant, Isaiah	DB	5-7	160	12/09/1982	1	Eastern Washington
	Tupou, Fenuki	T	6-5	323	05/02/1985	2	Oregon
7	Vick, Michael	QB	6-0	215	06/26/1980	10	Virginia Tech
37	Wall, Jamar	DB	5-10	202	01/10/1988	1	Texas Tech
43	Weaver, Leonard	RB	6-0	250	09/23/1982	7	Carson-Newman
76	Wells, Reggie	G	6-4	318	11/03/1980	9	Clarion
	Williams, Jeremy	WR	6-0	206	01/23/1987	1	Tulane
	Ervin, Allen	RB	5-10	224	03/19/1985	1	Lambuth

The guys without uniform numbers next to their names are either the newest draftees, free agents or the practice squad players most likely to be in competition with the rookies for a spot.  And yet, somewhat strangely, guys like Cornelius Ingram and Vic Abiamiri, perennially injured players, and Practice Squad center A.Q. Shipley, have somehow managed to snag their own individual numbers… the keys mean— player is injured, and   = news about this player could be affecting his status.

Oh yeah… ADD these two Rookies to the new Roster list:
         Watkins, Danny             T        6-4   312      11/06/1984     Baylor
         Vandervelde, Julian        G        6-2   302      10/07/1987     Iowa

If you’re Fenuki Tupou, you have to be a little worried about your future with the team. After all, the 2011 NFL Draft has played out as quite challenging to both veteran and underachieving players of the Eagles offensive line….

Still, you’ll get a fair chance to compete with the youngblood challengers as soon as they get this labor dispute straightened out.

And with the selections of rookies Danny Watkins at Guard/Tackle, Julian Vandervelde at Guard, and Jason Kelce at Center/Guard, you better be on your best game in terms of preparation when the time comes.