Acme Packing Company
The NFL has tweaked its roster rules around injured reserve significantly in the last ten years or so, with the rules changes affording teams much more flexibility to manage medium-term injuries. Years ago, if a player was placed on the Reserve/Injured list (more commonly referred to as “injured reserve” or “IR”), his season was over.
Now, the league allows teams to designate up to eight players to return from IR during a single regular season. Additionally, teams that make the playoffs are allowed two additional return designations for postseason play. Unlike in past years, teams do not need to make the return designation immediately when sending a player to IR; instead, any individual who is placed on IR during the regular season may be designated for return at a later date, though once a DTR designation is made, it cannot be removed.
Preseason IR moves are a bit different. Until recently, any player put on IR at or before the deadline for teams to cut down to a 53-man roster would be ineligible to get a return designation and would be out for the season. That required teams to keep a player on the 53 for at least one day before sending them to IR. In 2024, however, the league added a tweak that allowed teams to send two players to IR on cut-down day and give them the return designation at that time, maintaining their eligibility to play again later on in the season. Importantly, those DTR statuses do count towards teams’ total allotment.
This year, the Green Bay Packers retain plenty of flexibility with their return designations. The team did use both of of the cutdown deadline spots, leaving them with only six DTR slots remaining to use during the regular season. To this point, however, the Packers have not yet designated any other players for return, though they are likely to have one assignment coming in the near term. That would leave the team with five more available to use in the regular season, with an additional two if they manage to hold on for a playoff spot.
Placed on IR Aug. 6
Glover injured his shoulder early on in training camp practices, reportedly tearing his lat muscle. That injury was expected to sideline him for the entire season. By placing Glover on injured reserve prior to the final cut-down deadline to the 53-man roster, Glover is ineligible to return this season.
Placed on IR-DTR Aug. 26
The Packers used both of their DTR slots at final cuts on Lloyd, sending him to IR to free up a roster spot while maintaining his eligibility to return at some point this season. He could be activated at any time if healthy, but his ongoing hamstring issues continue to confound the Packers, as he was recently sent for evaluation by a third party. Before week 9, head coach Matt LaFleur said he “would count...
