be allowed to practice after Week 6, and be activated to play after Week 8. In 2017, the rule was changed to allow up to two players to return from injured reserve after Week 8. In 2018, the rule was slightly modified due to timing of team bye weeks so players are only eligible to return after their team has played eight games instead of after eight weeks. In 2020, the number of players eligible to return to each team in a season increased to three. 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. During the preseason, the league also allows players with long-term, but not season-ending, injuries to be placed into one of three designations: physically unable to perform (PUP), for injuries sustained during the previous season or during offseason training activities (a player who passes their physical at the beginning of training camp and practices is physically able to participate and is thus ineligible for the PUP list), reserve/non-football injury (NFL), for injuries sustained outside of team or league activities (despite the name, this includes lingering injuries from college football play, should an injured player be drafted and join the team), or reserve/non-football illness (NFL), for severe illnesses sustained by players unrelated to football. Players on the PUP list can be moved to the active roster after week 6 of the regular season or placed on injured reserve. , players on the NFL lists can begin practicing after week 6 but cannot be activated until their team has played eight games. When a player from the NFL lists begins practicing, a three-week window starts in which they are eligible to be moved to the active roster. If the player is not activated at the conclusion of the three-week window, they must remain on the NFL list for the rest of the season. During the regular season, players on the PUP list and injured reserve do not count against the league's 53-man roster maximum, but do count against the 90-man roster limit. NBA rules Due to abuses in the use of the injured reserve list, where some teams found it convenient to use the IR to stash players without independent medical oversight, the injured reserve has been renamed the Inactive List with the last collective bargaining agreement. Starting in the , players