What are the new rules for the 2022 NFL season?
The NFL has announced some new rules for implementation in the coming season, including guidelines on how quickly players can return from injured reserve.
The 2022 NFL season is scheduled to kick off on Sept. 8, and players will have some new rules to comply with this year.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed on new regulations for 2022, one of which involves the amount of time a player on injured reserve needs to be able to return to action.
Longer recovery time needed
Athletes who have been placed on IR can only be allowed to return to play after “four games have elapsed since the date he was placed on the applicable reserve list,” according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
The previous rule allowed them to exit the list after only three missed games.
Another guideline change involving IR protocol allows teams to have up to eight players return to play from injured reserve and/or the reserve/non-football injury/illness list. A player can be cleared to leave the IR list up to two times per season, with each incidence counting toward the team total of eight.
This cap of eight is a far cry from last year’s rule which allowed an unlimited number of players to return from the injured list.
Rules on practice squads
Other updated rules affect the size of practice squads, which used to be limited to 14 players.
Teams are now allowed to have practice squad players elevated to three regular-season games- up from two last year- and an unlimited number of postseason appearances without counting against the 53-person active roster of a team.