IR designated to return rule changed

Definitely an improvement.

This way teams don't have to risk (1) a setback wasting the DTR designation, and (2) worrying too much about who to use the designation on.

I think a simple fix to the "stashing" player concern would be to place a cap penalty on excessive use: e.g., if you DTR more than three players, your salary cap is dinged by a certain amount. [I'm not saying it's the best way, merely that it would be a way.]

JMC00 said:

Except any player that goes on the IR-DTR has to be on the final preseason 53 man roster. So a coach would have to cut other players he might not want to risk losing to do the scheme you are talking about.

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That's under the old system. It's not clear if the new rule allows players placed on IR in the preseason to return.

It's a decent improvement, but I still hate the rules. So many players will suffer an injury that won't actually disable them for the rest of the season, but they're shut down anyway so GMs/coaches and get the most out of every last roster spot.

You should be allowed to take up to 5 guys off IR.

The NFL should copy and paste the NHL's IR rule.

The fact that they haven't even attempted to fix it is mind boggling.

If, for example, Aaron Rodgers goes down with a substantial injury midseason, but the Packers already used their IR-DTR on Eddy Lacy, how exactly does that help the league?

Why it's not like the other sports is beyond me. It's still weird to hear a Bruins player be put on IR and back playing 2 weeks later.

That's the way it should be, especially in a violent sport such as football. I imagine Swag Roberts could have gotten invaluable game action after his hand healed.

JMC00 said:

Still only get 1- IR-DTR though which I think is ********. Should be unlimited. Guy gets hurt but could come back but can't because the team chose to bring someone else back.. Basically punishing teams and players for injuries.

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If you had unlimited IR-DTR slots, teams would stash players until the second half of the season for the stretch run. I think three or four would make sense since everybody has a few key injuries in the pre-season or early games. An unlimited number would lead to all sorts of shenanigans.

But maybe I'm just paranoid. NFL owners and head coaches would never do anything underhanded to gain an edge on the teams in front of them, would they?

goheels22002 said:

If you had unlimited IR-DTR slots, teams would stash players until the second half of the season for the stretch run. I think three or four would make sense since everybody has a few key injuries in the pre-season or early games. An unlimited number would lead to all sorts of shenanigans.

But maybe I'm just paranoid. NFL owners and head coaches would never do anything underhanded to gain an edge on the teams in front of them, would they?

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No, it is well-documented that only the New England Patriots would do such a thing. Bill Belichick needs to be sent back to the Rutgers lacrosse field where he belongs!!!1!1!eleven11!!!

JMC00 said:

Except any player that goes on the IR-DTR has to be on the final preseason 53 man roster. So a coach would have to cut other players he might not want to risk losing to do the scheme you are talking about.

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the coach wouldn't have to cut players, he could just IR them when he activates the DTR guys. so basically do an IR swap.

the nfl is a f--king joke. thats all anybody needs to know.

As long as we still have BB around it is to the Pats' advantage to have the personnel rules as arcane and restrictive as possible. His ability to understand the nuances and to work those rules is superior to the rest of the league and gives a competitive advantage.

turkeyneck said:

As long as we still have BB around it is to the Pats' advantage to have the personnel rules as arcane and restrictive as possible. His ability to understand the nuances and to work those rules is superior to the rest of the league and gives a competitive advantage.

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I agree in general, but not on this particular point, since it depends too much on luck.

A step in the right direction, but it should be closer to MLB's DL rules IMO. NFL active roster is twice as big as MLB with approximately 2-3x the players needed to field a team for any given game. Maybe a 4- and 8-game DL or something, and make the practice squad a little bit larger so that teams can have 'minor league' replacement players for every position.

As far as "stashing" players until later in the season, I think we, as pats fans, have become used to being in the playoffs every season. For most teams, every regular season game is a battle to stay alive for the postseason... just look at how the Eagles game affected our whole season. Stash players if you want. Either way, they probably won't be playing in the playoffs with that strategy.

JMC00 said:

Still only get 1- IR-DTR though which I think is ********. Should be unlimited. Guy gets hurt but could come back but can't because the team chose to bring someone else back.. Basically punishing teams and players for injuries.

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I don't think the NFLPA wants it to be more than a couple of players. If I understand how some are paid correctly, teams do not have to pay players (depending on their contractual arrangement) game checks if they are on IR. By hording players on IR it hurts the player's earning potential.

Making the $ guaranteed once a player is IRd would be the solution but I doubt the owners or GMs would want that one bit.

I realize they can't allow you do to this to unlimited players but maybe allow one on defense and one on offense. That seems more fair

JMC00 said:

Except any player that goes on the IR-DTR has to be on the final preseason 53 man roster. So a coach would have to cut other players he might not want to risk losing to do the scheme you are talking about.

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That's a key point that definitely reduces the potential for abuse -- but doesn't eliminate it. Think of how the Patriots' "final 53" countdown is never final at all, they always claim a few players from other teams after cutdown day. With unlimited IR-DTR, it would be mighty tempting to hang on to the rights of your late cuts as possible mid-season replacements.

This issue has long been one of my NFL pet peeves. The new rule is an improvement, but I am still amazed at the small-mindedness both the owners and union show on this topic. The union wants to maximize the number of players getting paid each week, so they want players staying on IR rather than being activated because another player would be released to make room for the returning player. The owners are still stuck in a time warp before the salary cap and free agency with such outdated concerns as extra cost and player stashing.

IMHO updating the NFL's archaic roster rules would go a long way in improving player safety and improving the quality of play both of which are too often compromised by not having enough healthy players available.


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It's still not ideal, but it's an improvement. Makes it a lot less speculative, and enables teams to act on information as they get it, while still preventing teams from using the IR to stash players.

There's still a ways to go before the right balance is reached, but this is the NFL so we really have to grade them on an extra special curve. Any decision that doesn't actively **** up their product is a pleasant surprise, so something that actually helps, even in a small way, is borderline amazing.

ctpatsfan77 said:

That's under the old system. It's not clear if the new rule allows players placed on IR in the preseason to return.

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Can't the PUP list be used during the preseason though? Thought you could designate anyone during preseason to the PUP, then week 6 or whatever you have to either place them on IR or make room on the roster to activate them

JarOfMayo51 said:

Can't the PUP list be used during the preseason though? Thought you could designate anyone during preseason to the PUP, then week 6 or whatever you have to either place them on IR or make room on the roster to activate them

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you can only designate a player to be PUP if they haven't practiced at all during the pre-season. once they practice, if they get injured the only option to hold them out and bring them back is IR-DTR.