The NFL announced multiple new rules changes this week during the owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., and one area of focus off the field of play was the way that injured reserve works to start the regular season.
That’s big news for every team, but especially the New Orleans Saints, who have had to start out players like Trevor Penning and Malcolm Roach on injured reserve after preseason before later activating them.
In the past, players who were injured during training camp or preseason with an opportunity to return had to be rostered on the first day of the regular season; otherwise they were not eligible to be activated once healthy. With this change, teams can have two players on the injured reserve list while making roster cuts down to the final 53 during the preseason. That’s going to keep some players from being released, waived, and later re-signed as procedural moves early in the season.
It could also save room for an extra roster spot in the case of someone that is certain to make the roster gets injured. As an example, in 2022 when Penning got hurt during preseason, the Saints could have kept another player around longer as opposed to saving that spot for him on the Week 1 roster. It’s a good change that is going to give teams more options to keep players who have earned the opportunity while allowing those with injuries time to recover.
