The amount of time that New England Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski needs to recover from his twice broken left forearm and housekeeping procedure on his spine will dictate which list the team decides to place him on, if any at all...
...which makes this as good a time as any to review the practice of list designations within the scope of the National Football League, and since the rules regarding the Injured Reserved List have been altered as of last season, it makes the options available to the Patriots a bit more plentiful.
Of course, in the case of Gronkowski the team may not designate him at all, and that thought has merit as well as it gives the team the most flexability in regard to roster availability and there are so many variables in place right now - particularly since he hasn't even had the procedure on his spine - that it makes sense to explore all possibilities:
Option 1 - Act like nothing happened:
Pros: Maximum roster flexibility. Cons: Limited regular season options in the event of a setback.
If the prognosis is as optimistic as Gronkowski's agent makes it sound, the team may elect to keep Gronkowski on the 90 man roster through training camp in hopes that his rehabilitation goes according to the itinerary, which puts his availability for participation in the preseason for mid-August - keeping in mind that Gronkowski will have a lot of work to do to get into playing shape.
The conditioning issue is causing some to question the timing of the back procedure and lean toward postponing the surgery - and there is merit to their argument. As things stand at the moment, Gronkowski can participate in some conditioning, though limited - but as the forearm heals, his activity can increase exponentially in a closely supervised some regimen...
...but the back surgery would make that impossible. The only reason that this option has popped up is that Drew Rosenhaus, Gronk's agent, called it a minor procedure that was being performed in an attempt to "Kill two birds with one stone", leading many to believe that the back issue could be managed until next offseason, when he could have the procedure right after the season and be healed and ready for training camp.
Regardless, if the Patriots choose this option and Gronkowski practices, they lose the ability to use the PUP list designation, which gives them the maximum flexability in regards to managing the injury and the roster should the surgery proceed.
A player who, as a result of football-related injuries, is unable to take part in training camp practices may be assigned to the preseason PUP list. Players can be moved off the PUP list to the active roster at any time, even after one practice. A player cannot be placed on the PUP list, however, once he has taken the field for a practice, even if only for a few minutes.
A player who finishes the preseason still on the PUP list can then be placed on the regular-season PUP list. Such players must sit out the first six games their team plays. At that point, teams have a three-week window in which to allow the player to begin practicing; from the day the player begins practicing, teams have an additional three-week window in which to decide whether to activate the player to the 53-man roster. If either of those deadlines pass, the player must remain on the PUP list for the remainder of the season.[1]
A team may place a player on injured reserve (reserve/injured list) who is "not immediately available for participation with a club". Generally, these players may not practice or return to the Active List for the rest of the season (including postseason games) that they are placed on injured reserve, but are allowed to be with the team.[2]
Starting in 2012, the NFL and the NFLPA reached an agreement allowing one player placed on injured reserve to be brought back to the active roster.[3] Provided the provisions that the player was on the final 53-man preseason roster (A rule exempted for the 2012 season), and that the injury is deemed to keep this player unable to practice or play football for an estimated six weeks, the player may be allowed to practice after Week 6, and be activated to play after Week 8.[4]
Teams may also place a player on injured reserve with a minor injury designation, but the team must release the player once he is healthy.[5]
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