The Arizona Cardinals, as must the rest of the league, have their rosters cut down to 53 total players by 1 p.m. Arizona time. There is a new rule that will change how teams go about that.
Previously, a player placed on injured reserve without having spent at least one day on the 53-man roster was out for the season, ineligible to play that year. It was intended to keep teams from stashing players they wanted to keep on the roster.
However, in 2024, that isn’t necessarily the case.
As teams are permitted to use up to eight “designations to return” from injured reserve, NFI or practice squad injured reserve over the course of the season, this year teams can use two of those designations on players they put on injured reserve on cutdown day. They will count against the eight total designations.
That means if a team has a player or two beginning the season injured, they will not be forced to carry them on the 53-man roster, allowing them to keep another two players potentially.
Players on injured reserve and designated to return must miss at least the first four games of the season before they can return to practice.
This could be the route the Cardinals use with rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson, who suffered a calf injury last week. He is expected to miss multiple weeks.
If there is the chance he will miss as much as a month, they could use one of their designation on him and have him start the season on IR.
We will see if this is what the Cardinals decide to do and whether or not they will use this option with any other player.
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