The NFL and the NFLPA have agreed on some new rules for reserve lists and practice squads for the 2022 NFL season. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared the league’s memo on the changes, which expands and solidifies some of the rules seen in recent seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Let’s start off by taking a look at the new reserve list rules. Players who are designated for return from the reserve/injured or reserve/non-football injury/illness lists now may only return after four games have elapsed from their placement on the list. Previously, the NFL only required three games to have elapsed before players could return to action.
Another significant change coming to reserve lists is the number of players permitted to return. Over the past two seasons, the league allowed an unlimited number of players to return from injured reserve due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, only eight players per team will be permitted to return from reserve lists. That’s actually an increase from the pre-pandemic number, which was set at three players ahead of the 2020 NFL season.
