The NFL makes changes to its rulebook every offseason, and with organized team activities (OTAs) underway, the league finalized a few key rules that apply to teams’ rosters for the 2022 season, and in some cases, beyond.
Return from IR/NFI lists
The first of those rules deals with the timeline for when players are eligible to return from injured reserve, non-football injury, or non-football illness lists. Previously, players were not eligible to return until eight weeks had passed, but an addendum was made to the CBA in 2020 to account for the impact of COVID-19 on rosters and players were eligible to return after just three games missed.