Pride of Detroit
One of the more complicated processes when it comes to NFL roster cuts is the maneuvering of injured players. There is a litany of rules and regulations, and they seem to change every single year. And with the 2025 Detroit Lions entering the final day of roster cuts with a total of 11 players on an injury list (and a couple more dealing with injuries without designation), it’s important to understand what each list means, each player’s eligibility to return, and what it means for finalizing a 53-man roster.
So here’s what it means to be on injured reserve (IR), physically unable to perform (PUP), or the non-football injury (NFI) list.
A player who is placed on injured reserve before roster cutdowns is out for the season. They are not eligible to return to play this season. Players currently on injured reserve include OT Justin Herron, OL Colby Sorsdal, TE Kenny Yeboah, CB Ennis Rakestraw, S Dan Jackson, and RB Kye Robichaux.
These players did not count against the Lions’ 90-man roster in training camp, and they will not count against their 53-man roster after cutdowns. However, they will count against the 90-man roster limit during the regular season, which includes the 53-man roster, the 16-man practice squad, and everyone on IR. Teams don’t typically get anywhere near that 90-man limit during a season, but the Lions came close last year, leading them to propose a rule that ultimately did not get adopted.
There is one way a player already placed on IR could return to play later this year. That’s if the team ultimately cuts them with an injury settlement. We’ve already seen the Lions do that with players like OL Keaton Sutherland and CB Dicaprio Bootle. Once those players’ injury settlements end, they are eligible to sign with any team. They can sign with their original team after the length of the injury settlement, plus an additional three weeks.
What about IR-to-return?
During a season, teams are allowed to return a total of eight players who are placed on IR. But here’s the fine print: those players have to be placed on IR after a team has already cut down the roster to 53 players. A player on IR-to-return must sit out a minimum of four games and cannot practice during that time. While on IR-to-return, players do not count against the 53-man roster.
After at least four games, teams can start a 21-day evaluation window, in which the player can return to practice without counting against the roster. Once that player is ready to play, they must be activated to the 53-man roster. If a team decides at the end of the 21-day evaluation period that the player cannot return, they must revert to season-ending IR.
What about that new rule regarding two IR-to-returns?
Yes, there is a somewhat new rule that on cutdown day, teams can place two players on IR-to-return without them making the initial 53-man roster. Those individuals...
