NFL clubs move hurt players off the 53-man roster through injured reserve, the physically unable to perform (PUP) list and the non-football injury or illness (NFI) list, or release them with an injury settlement. In 2026 a club may bring back up to eight players from injured reserve or NFI during the regular season, and each one must miss at least four games first.
2026 season reference, as of October 2026. Updated each season at this address.
2026 rules at a glance
| Rule | 2026 season |
|---|---|
| Minimum time out after a designated IR or NFI placement | Four games after the date of placement. Games are counted, not weeks. |
| Return designations, regular season | Eight per club, covering IR and Reserve/NFI combined |
| Return designations, postseason | Two more for playoff teams, with no more than 10 across the full season |
| Times one player can be designated | Two per season, and each use counts against the club's total |
| Cut-down day designations | Up to two players placed on a reserve list on the day of the final cut to 53 (August 30 in 2026) |
| Practice window once a player is designated | 21 days to activate him or he stays on the list for the rest of the season |
| Reserve/PUP | Can start practicing after the club's second game (new in 2026), but can't be activated until after the fourth game |
| Re-signing after an injury settlement | The original club must wait until the settlement period ends, plus three more weeks (per reporting; see sources) |
What injured reserve is
Injured reserve (Reserve/Injured) is for players who suffer a football injury and can't play for an extended period. A player on IR doesn't count against the 53-man limit, but he stays under contract and is still paid. There is no cap on how many players a club can place on IR.
A player on IR without a return designation is out for the season. A club that wants a player back later in the season has to designate him for return, and it can make only a limited number of those designations.
Who can be placed on injured reserve
Any player under contract who is hurt playing football can go on IR, but the process is different in the preseason. Players with fewer than four credited seasons are subject to waivers at all times. An injured young player released in camp is usually waived with an injury designation ("waived/injured"). If no other club claims him, he reverts to the original club's injured reserve list. The club and player then often work out an injury settlement, described below.
Preseason versus regular season
Timing matters. Under the 2026 league calendar, players placed on Reserve/Injured or Reserve/NFI from 4 p.m. New York time on August 31, the day after the final cut, can be designated for return later in the season. A player placed on IR earlier in camp is out for the season unless he is one of the two players a club may designate on cut-down day.
Designated for return
Since 2022, a player designated for return from IR can practice or rejoin the active roster only after four games have passed since he was placed on the list. The count uses games, not weeks, so a bye week does not shorten it. Once he returns to practice, the club has 21 days to activate him. If it doesn't, he stays on IR for the rest of the season.
Each club gets eight designations for the regular season, and returns from IR and Reserve/NFI share that pool. One player can be designated twice in the same season, but each designation uses one of the eight. Under the 2024 agreement between the NFL and NFL Players Association, playoff teams get two more designations for the postseason, with a cap of 10 for the season and no more than eight in the regular season.
A club doesn't have to say up front which IR players it may bring back. It can make the designation later, when the player is ready to practice. The NFL's 2026 calendar also allows return designations for players injured on the practice squad during the regular season or postseason.
The cut-down day designation
Before 2024, a club that wanted to bring a player back from IR during the season had to keep him on the initial 53-man roster for at least a day before placing him on the list. The 2024 change removed that step. On the day of the final cut to 53, a club may designate up to two players placed on a reserve list for return. The NFL's 2026 calendar says those players count against the club's designations right away, even if they never return to practice.
The PUP list: active versus reserve
PUP is for players who can't practice because of a football-related injury. The list has two stages:
- Active/PUP applies during training camp. The player counts against the 90-man camp roster and can't practice. He can come off the list at any point in camp, but once he practices he can't be placed back on PUP.
- Reserve/PUP applies once the regular season starts. If a player is still on Active/PUP at the final cut, the club can move him to Reserve/PUP. He then doesn't count against the 53, but he must miss at least the club's first four regular-season games.
A bylaw change passed at the March 2026 annual meeting lets Reserve/PUP players begin their 21-day practice period after the club's second regular-season game, earlier than before. Activation rules didn't change. The NFL's 2026 calendar allows activations from Reserve/PUP only beginning the day after a club's fourth regular-season game. Clubs were opening PUP practice windows under the new rule by late September 2026. A player on PUP is paid his full base salary.
The NFI list
The non-football injury or illness list is for conditions that didn't come from football, such as an injury suffered away from the club. Like PUP, it has an active version in camp and a reserve version during the season. A player who starts the season on Reserve/NFI must miss the first four games. Unlike PUP, NFI pay isn't automatic: the club and player can negotiate it. A return from Reserve/NFI uses one of the club's eight designations.
What is an injury settlement in the NFL?
An injury settlement is a deal in which a club releases an injured player and pays him for the time he is expected to miss. The player gives up any further claim against the club over that injury, and the club frees the roster or IR spot. Most settlements happen in late summer, when a player is hurt in camp, goes through waived/injured and reverts to IR. For more background, see NFP's explainer What is an injury settlement?
How much are NFL injury settlements?
Settlements are measured in weeks, not dollar figures. The two sides agree on how many regular-season weeks the injury would keep the player out, and the club pays his salary for those weeks as if he had stayed on the roster. Doctors for each side often disagree on the recovery time, so the final number is negotiated. The amount therefore depends on the player's salary and on the agreed recovery time. A rookie on a minimum salary with a two-week sprain gets a small check, and a veteran with a longer injury gets more.
The weeks also matter for a player's pension. Under Article 44 of the 2020 collective bargaining agreement (CBA), a player paid for three or more regular-season games through an injury grievance or a settlement of one earns a year of credited service for the NFL retirement plan.
How injury settlements work: re-signing with the same club
Once settled, the player is free to sign with any other club as soon as he is healthy. His former club has to wait. The current rule, as widely reported, is that it can't re-sign him until the settlement period has run plus three more weeks. Older explainers, including NFP's 2014 article linked above, describe the earlier six-week rule. Reporting dates the cut from six weeks to three to 2016.
Injury grievances
A player who is released while still hurt and gets no settlement can file an injury grievance under Article 44 of the 2020 CBA. The claim is that when the club ended his contract, he couldn't perform because of an injury suffered while playing under it. The grievance must be filed in writing within 25 days of when the player knew, or should have known, that he was released. The club has 10 days to answer. The player must then see a neutral physician within 20 days of filing, and that doctor's findings on his condition are binding. A player who passed his preseason physical and disclosed his medical history is presumed to have been fit at that time.
Rule changes by year
| Season | Change |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Clubs no longer had to name their one designated-for-return player when placing him on IR. The re-signing wait after an injury settlement was reportedly cut from six weeks to three. |
| 2017 | Clubs could return two players from IR. |
| 2020 | A May bylaw raised the limit to three. Rules adopted later for the COVID-19 season allowed unlimited returns after a shorter stay. |
| 2021 | Unlimited returns continued. Players had to miss three games, and only players on the 53-man roster after the final cut were eligible. |
| 2022 | The minimum stay went from three games to four. Returns were capped at eight per club across IR and NFI, with a limit of two per player. |
| 2024 | Two cut-down day designations were added, along with two postseason designations (10 total). |
| 2026 | Reserve/PUP players can start their 21-day practice window after the second game. Activation still waits until after the fourth game. |
For an argument that the system still needs work, see NFP's earlier column Injured reserve rules need an overhaul. It was written before several of the changes listed above.
Sources
- NFL Important Dates (2026 season), NFL.com. Primary source for the cut-down designations, the August 31 designation start, practice squad returns and Reserve/PUP activation timing.
- Players now eligible to return from injured reserve after four games, NFL.com (2022)
- NFL training camp roster FAQs: Defining injured reserve, PUP list, NFI and more, NFL.com
- NFL permitting unlimited players to return from injured reserve for 2021 season, NFL.com
- 2020 NFL-NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 44: Injury Grievance, hosted by Over The Cap
- 2026 NFL rule, bylaw, resolution changes, Los Angeles Rams (club site, March 31, 2026)
- Cowboys have a specific IR issue that threatens 2026, Dallas Cowboys (club site, October 2026)
- NFL announces rule change for players returning from injured reserve in 2024 season, Bleacher Report (secondary; no league release found)
- NFL tweaks injured reserve rule, Sports Illustrated (secondary, 2024)
- NFL teams may now designate three players to return from IR following bylaw change, Denver Broncos (club site, 2020)
- NFL tweaks IR/designated to return rule, Pro Football Rumors (2016)
- PFR Glossary: Injured Reserve, Pro Football Rumors (secondary; the source for the three-week re-signing rule, as the league bylaw text is not public)
- What exactly are injury settlements?, Over The Cap (how settlements are calculated; describes the pre-2016 six-week rule)
- 2 Chicago Bears on PUP list return to practice, Yahoo Sports (secondary, September 23, 2026; shows the PUP change in effect)
- What is an injury settlement?, National Football Post