We will see changes in the way American football works in 2022: the NFL’s rules on certain important fields have changed for the next season.
The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to handle injured reserve rules differently, and starting this season, players must miss at least 4 games before they can return.
However, the changes are not exclusive to that list, as the list of injuries/illnesses not related to football will also undergo their respective changes, as reported on Wednesday. Some of the adjustments outlined by the league and its players’ association were broadcast on Twitter by Mike Garafolo, a writer for the NFL Network, who stated:
“Eight players per team can return from injured reserve and other reserve lists. Four games must have elapsed before a player can return.”
In the information provided by the league and published by Garafolo, it is specified that in addition, the teams will only have eight opportunities to designate players for the return, and only one player can be designated to return up to twice per season.
All NFL rule changes for the 2022 season
Previously, players who were placed on injured reserve after the 53-man roster had been set had to sit out eight games.
It is important to note that these agreements between the NFL and the NFLPA occurred since, in both 2020 and 2021, they had chosen to eliminate the limit on the number of players that franchises could designate to return to injured reserve, and they only had to miss three games before returning.
The league also announced that teams will be able to bring up to 16 players on their practice squads, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport revealed.
The NFL and NFLPA also made changes when it comes to preseason training camp times. Before, sessions in the field lasted no more than two hours and will now be limited to 90 minutes on the second day and 105 minutes on the third day, while the last two days will be kept to two hours.