With the new injured reserve rule, a team would be allowed to bring one player back to the active roster after placing him on IR. Starting next season, players with an injury severe enough to be put on IR after the 53 man roster is determined are eligible to return IF that player has been designated for return at the time they were placed on IR. As a check to stop teams from bringing back a player that has recovered faster or might help the team more, a team can only designate one player for return.
For this season, since some roster cuts have been made around the league, teams are allowed to bring back that one player now if they choose, and they have until 9:00 PM Friday to do so. Going forward, any player put on IR that a team brings back must be designated for return.
Any player put on IR that has been designated for return can be brought back to the active roster, but they MUST miss at least the first six weeks before they are brought back. The player can then return to practicing with the team, but can't play in a game until after eight weeks.
In short, a player that is placed on IR that has been designated for return will miss the first half of the season, at least, but there are still benefits.
This is yet another move that should help certain teams, those making a playoff push, late in the season.
Also new in the rules game, starting next year, if a player signs or reports after training camp starts, that player can practice on the first day after he passes his physical and he is officially on the roster. They will not have to wait until the third day.
While these moves will help teams, I think they are also a small step towards an expanded schedule in the future. I also think we can expect to see more rule changes and additions that will help that happen down the road.
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