What is the PUP List? How NFL’s Physically Unable to Perform Designation Works

The physically unable to perform list is an important designation to know as the NFL regular season approaches.

With the 2023 NFL regular season inching closer and closer to kickoff, it’s as good a time as any to revisit the guidelines for one of the league’s most important designations: the physically unable to perform list.

Notably, Bills linebacker Von Miller was placed on the PUP list Tuesday. Similarly, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will be starting the season on the PUP list. Other notable players currently sitting on their teams’ PUP lists include Panthers guard Austin Corbett and Titans cornerback Caleb Farley.

All of the above begs the question: What exactly is the PUP list, and how does it work? 

What is the PUP list? 

The PUP list is a designation for players who are physically unable to perform football activities due to football-related injuries. Players on the list can participate in team activities but are not allowed to practice.

How does it work? 

There is both an active/PUP list and a reserve/PUP list. For the active/PUP list, players are designated during training camp and count toward a team’s 90-man roster. Players can be can be removed from the list at any time during camp, but they can’t be placed back on it. If a player is on this list on the day of final roster cuts, they must be put on the reserve/PUP list, released or traded. Otherwise, they’re counted against the 53-man roster.

Teams must decide who’s going on the Reserve/PUP list before final cuts are made. 

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How long must players stay on the PUP list? 

Players placed on the reserve/PUP list amid 53-man roster deadline cuts must sit out at least the team’s first four games. Before 2022, players had to miss six games. Players can be activated immediately after the four games have passed. 

How does it affect a player’s salary? 

Players on the PUP list are paid their entire base salary. A player’s contract will not be suspended and resumed the following season while on the PUP list unless he is in the last year of his contract, unable to perform football activities as of the sixth regular-season game and inactive during the regular season and postseason, according to NFL.com.