Can someone explain to me why they would carry fewer than 53 players on their roster? I'm not talking about a one week phenomenon due to a quick roster adjustmentone (one or maybe 2 players fewer). I'm talking about having substantially fewer players than you are allowed for a substantial period of time.

Here are some examples of teams with fewer players than they are allowed to carry:

Oakland: 48
Denver 49
Miami: 46
New England: 49
Buffalo: 47
Baltimore: 48
Houston: 44
Washington: 50
New York Giants: 48
Los Angeles: 51
San Francisco: 47
Seattle: 50
Detroit: 51
Tampa Bay: 50
Atlanta: 47
New Orleans: 45

What is the advantage of carrying fewer players? Thanks.

None in my opinion. It's actually a disadvantage because of the likelihood of injuries so you won't have people to fill in.

I have less players because the quality of players left is very terrible. I'm in the process of adding players however, it can be really slow after free agency.

I appreciate the reply and agree with your comments.

Even though the remaining free agents generally ****, signing up enough to fill your roster also gives you an opportunity to gamble on a player who might surprisingly improve in areas that you covet/need. Or simply to experiment with player weights/skill sets. There is no cost to doing so if you sign them up for a year (no bonus required) or you can give them a minimum bonus for multiyear contracts.

Good luck with you search.

Im ok with teams under 53 players.

I'm not ok with teams under 46 players or a team with no punter or kicker signed and activated.