Not every NFL player is quite ready to go full steam ahead when training camps get underway. Some athletes have not yet received clearance to return to practices, are still healing from surgery or injuries, or are simply not well enough. The player’s team will typically place him on the non-football injury (NFI) list or the physically unable to perform (PUP) list in those situations. Players placed on the PUP list during training camp are said to be counted toward a team’s 90-man roster by the NFL. During camp, players can take themselves off the list at any moment, but they cannot be added back. Similar to the PUP list, the NFI list is for players who have had illnesses or injuries that they did not sustain while participating in NFL activities. This is a non-exhaustive list of players whose teams have placed them on the PUP or NFI lists so they can start camp.
Of all the designations, this is the most well-known, and it’s a little mispronounced. Since injured is a subcategory of injured and reserved is the categorization of importance, in this case, the formal designation is Reserve/Injured. A player designated as reserve is permitted to play during the regular season and indicates that they are a member of the team but does not count toward the roster cap. We’ll talk about other reserve categories later, but those need to be designated first. A club may designate a player as reserve or injured at any moment, which enables them to substitute another player while still counting both players’ salaries toward the team’s pay cap. Previously, a player’s season ended when they were placed on injured reserve (IR). However, in recent years, the NFL has permitted teams to designate IR players to return to action. Players will have to miss four games minimum starting in 2022. A player may be designated to return from injured reserve twice in a season, and teams may designate up to eight different players for this purpose.
Diggs of the Cowboys suffered an ACL tear in Week 3 of the 2023 season
This does not imply that Diggs is running late or won’t be able to make it to training camp. It just indicates that he hasn’t received the all-clear from his doctor to resume his full practice schedule. This clearance may be granted after the athlete completes a few exercises later in camp, or—ideally—not until the regular season. The term “active” denotes that the player is being counted against the roster, which consists of 90 players in the offseason. This is the reason it’s a crucial distinction. In the offseason, there is no need for a reserve list.
Although the team can now designate two players to return from injured reserve to begin the season, the football gods do not allow for such restrictions on injuries. A player may be placed on reserve/PUP to begin the season if they miss the entirety of training camp. As a result, the athlete can take a minimum of four weeks off (compared to six weeks before 2022) before being activated as soon as they’re well. To be placed on reserve/PUP, a player must have started training camp as an active/PUP. That is the sole need. The IR designation would be their sole choice if they practiced in camp at all.
Following off-season surgery on his core muscles, Kittle says he feels prepared for camp to begin
The seasoned tight end disclosed in May that he underwent surgery shortly after the 49ers’ Super Bowl LVIII run, having struggled with a core muscle problem throughout the second half of the season. Even though Kittle had a season deserving of being named to the First Team All-Pro, playing with an injury in 2023 didn’t necessarily slow him down. He spent a significant amount of the offseason healing. After surgery, Kittle revealed that he dropped as low as 214 pounds, and he is now back to his typical playing weight just in time for football season.
“I usually play the whole season around 242 to 245 pounds, and I got back up to 243 this past week, so the weight is all back,” Kittle stated. “I couldn’t train the way I usually do, so it was sort of an unusual offseason. Although I had to recover a lot, I was able to regain my desired rhythm via OTAs in June and July, and I feel ready to begin training camp.”
In 2023, three Dallas Cowboys starting offensive linemen placed third in terms of pressure percentage allowed
The player the Cowboys intend to replace Smith with is 2024 first-round selection Tyler Guyton. It’s unclear at this point if that occurs on Day 1 or not, but one thing is certain: whoever takes over at LT will have some very large shoes to fill. Not a fantastic solution to the LT issue, either, is Chuma Edoga, a player many anticipate to be the fallback option if Guyton isn’t up to par. Throughout his five-year career, the veteran has had difficulty with pass protection; in 251 pass-blocking situations, he has allowed three sacks, 16 pressures, and three penalties most recently.
Guyton, himself, is an exceptionally undeveloped first-round pick. Although he is athletically gifted, he needs more time to mature before he can be trusted in the same manner as Smith was. A stepback is anticipated at left guard unless Tyler Smith, the projected starting left guard, mysteriously goes to tackle.