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Physically Unable to Perform (PUP)
If a player who was on the Active/PUP list during training camp isn’t cleared to play by the end of the preseason, he can be transferred to the Reserve/PUP list, which prevents that player from playing and practicing during the first six weeks of the NFL season. Players are only eligible for the regular-season PUP list if they were on the Active/PUP list all summer and did not play or practice with their team at any point.
The good news is PUP allows teams to apply roster exemptions while keeping their players under contract with the ability to play later in the season, which is why most teams apply PUP at the start of training camp for any injured players. If an injured player isn’t placed on PUP at the beginning of the year, a roster spot must be used on him, or he must be placed on Injured/Reserve (IR) to start the season (more on that below). Once someone is activated from PUP onto the active roster, the team will have to make a corresponding roster move by releasing/waiving someone to open a spot. Again, if a player is on PUP to start the season, they cannot play before Week 7 of the regular season.
By rule, players on Reserve/PUP list are excluded from practicing and playing during the first six weeks of the regular season. They're allowed to do conditioning work with the trainers — similar to what they did during training camp on the Active/PUP list.
After six weeks are in the books, teams have another six week window for that player to begin practicing. If they're unable to practice when this window expires, they remain on the PUP list for the rest of the season. If and when they do practice during that additional six-week window, teams have 21 days to make a decision:
1) Activate the player to the 53-man roster,
2) Release/waive the player or
3) Do nothing and keep him on the PUP list. If teams maximize all their windows, a player could be held out and not activated until well into December, just like the Bengals did with AJ McCarron in 2014.
Players can only be placed on the PUP list prior to the start of Week 1. The designation is not available once the regular season begins. This is only for players who have injuries coming into an NFL season.
