The New IR Rule Explained
Excerpts from an article by
Jeff Risdon that appeared at
www.sports.yahoo.com
In past years, a player's season was over if they were placed on the injured reserve before the final roster cutdowns.
However, a rule change adopted by the NFL in 2024 means that's not necessarily the case anymore.
From the league meeting earlier this offseason, the adopted change to the roster cutdown injured reserve:
By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 17.16(C), to permit each club to place a maximum of two players who are placed on an applicable Reserve List on the business day of the final roster reduction to be designated for return. Such players will immediately count as two of the club’s total designations.
In plain words, the new rule allows teams the ability to place two players on injured reserve at the roster cutdown deadline to return during the season.
That has not been the case in the past with the NFL; if a player went on injured reserve before the active 53-man roster is set, he was out for the season.
The new rule means NFL teams can put one or two players on I.R. at the deadline and still be able to bring them back during the season.
One last consideration: teams are allowed to bring back up to eight players from I.R. during the season.
Using the new rule would burn up two of those returns.
Players must miss at least four games before being eligible for return.
Full Article In Link Below:
https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-injured-rule-coming-play-163518704.html
Additionally, each team may return up to 2 players from IR to active status for the playoffs. That's a total of 10 players who can be placed on injured reserve and return to active status at some point during the season and the playoffs. If a team doesn't use all of their 8 allocated IR returns during the season the unused allotment can be added to the postseason allotment. Every player can be placed on IR up to 2 times and return 2 times. Each time a player returns to the active roster from IR it counts as one of the designated allotments.
A team can place as many players as they want on IR on countdown day, but only 2 may return in the season and/or playoffs from this group.