| Clue | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Subs for scrubs | Newsday | 09 Mar 2024 |
| Backups' backups | Newsday | 10 Nov 2023 |
| Third-stringers | LA Times Daily | 18 Oct 2023 |
| J.V. benchwarmers | New York Times | 08 Sep 2023 |
| Third-stringers | Wall Street Journal | 20 Apr 2023 |
| Third-stringers | Newsday | 15 May 2022 |
| Third-string players | Newsday | 13 Feb 2022 |
| Group of sub-sub-athletes | Premier Sunday | 05 Sep 2021 |
| Third-stringers | LA Times Daily | 30 Mar 2021 |
| Third-stringers | The Washington Post | 30 Mar 2021 |
| Group unlikely to get much playing time | ||
| Group unlikely to get much playing time | New York Times | 18 Oct 2019 |
| Third-stringers | New York Times | 29 Mar 2019 |
| Third-stringers | ||
| Third-stringers | ||
| Backups' backups | LA Times Daily | 03 Feb 2018 |
| Backups' backups | The Washington Post | 03 Feb 2018 |
| Backups' backups | ||
| Third-stringers | ||
| Third string | ||
| They back up the backups | ||
| Third string | ||
| Backups for backups | ||
| Sub-sub-players | ||
| Garbage time players |