How Does The NFL's PUP List Work? Rules Explained

Find out what it means when an NFL player is sent to the PUP list.

Some of the NFL’s injured players will begin the season on the PUP list. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With training camp set to begin later this month, the injury designation lists will return too: the PUP, IR and NFI.

In the earlier stages of the offseason such as OTAs and minicamp, there is less information regarding a player’s injury unless they and/or a coach are open about it. Typically, the best ways to tell an injured player’s status is whether they participate in team drills, individual drills or no drills at all as they manage their respective injury. When training camp rolls around, signaling the ramp-up to the next season, so do official designations.

So what are the PUP, IR and NFI lists? Here’s a breakdown of what each injury designation is.

What is the PUP List?

The PUP stands for the physically unable to perform list. Players who are injured are placed on the PUP list during training camp and count against their team’s 90-man roster. They are not allowed to practice, but can take part in team activities.

There are two versions of the PUP list, the active/PUP and the reserve/PUP. Players that get placed on the active/PUP in training camp can be taken off the list at any point during camp if they are medically cleared to return. Once cutdown day comes, the day teams narrow down their squads to the final 53-man rosters, players still on the active/PUP list must either be let go from the team, placed on the active 53-man roster or placed on the reserve/PUP list. Players on the reserve/PUP list must miss the first four games of the regular season, if not more.

What is the NFI List?

The NFI stands for the non-football injury list, a list is for players who suffer an injury or illness unrelated to the NFL football. The NFI covers everything from injuries a player sustained during their last season of college, players dealing with illness or appendicitis to injuries suffered in accidents away from the field such as a car or bike incident.

If a player begins the season on the NFI list, they must miss at least the first four games of the season and do not count as part of the active 53-man roster.

Outside of how the ailment takes place, the primary difference between the PUP and NFI lists is that per NFL.com, players on the NFI list are not entitled to their salaries while athletes on the PUP list still receive their whole base salary. Players on the NFI list can negotiate with their teams, but they have less contract security.

What is the IR List?

Players land on the injured reserve list when they suffer a football-related injury. They can be placed on the IR throughout the season, and must miss at least four games when they do land on IR. They do not count against the active 53-man roster. If a player is cleared to practice active, they have a 21-day window to return to the active roster or go on season-ending IR.

Teams can only designate that eight players can return from IR during the season; all other players placed on IR must miss the rest of the season. A player can be designated to return from IR twice in one season, though each time will count against the eight total designations.

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