October 2011 NFL Injured Reserve Report

The injured reserve list reflects the number of seriously injured players a team has...each team places its players in this status who have been determined to be so seriously injured they won't be able to contribute on the playing field for weekly games. The injured reserve list can be utilized to place a player on if season-ending surgery has ended his season...a roster spot is opened up when a player is put on injured reserve: the team can and usually immediately fills that spot with a healthy player.

This season the Indianapolis Colts have--it would appear--mulled over putting Peyton Manning on the injured reserve list, but they have opted for a turn around of his neck surgery prognosis. He remains on the active roster though he's not in game-playing shape reportedly. He can't be replaced on the active roster though he's not going to be available to play in the near future.

A more clear example of how the injured reserve list helps teams can be seen by the example of the Tennessee Titans' wide receiver Kenny Britt: he was injured in Week 3 of this 2011 NFL season and after magnetic resonance imaging the seriousness of his injury was determined definitively. He was placed on the injured reserve list this past Tuesday (09/28/2011) and a spot was opened to fill his absence. The Titans could then do their best to find a replacement for him.

Here's the injured reserve list as of October 1, 2011. The numbers after each NFL team reflect the number of players they've placed on the injured reserve list since the beginning of the 2011 season.

The 32 NFL teams have combined to place 135 players on the list during the 2011 NFL season.

Injured Reserve List: Team Totals
October 1, 2011
Arizona...6

Atlanta...0

Baltimore...4

Buffalo...7

Carolina...9

Cleveland...5

Cincinnati...3

Chicago...1

Dallas...1

Denver...6

Detroit...3

Green Bay...2

Houston...6

Indianapolis...7

Jacksonville...8

Kansas City...6

Miami...1

Minnesota...2

New England...6

New York Jets...4

New York Giants...8

New Orleans...6

Oakland...4

Philadelphia...1

Pittsburgh...5

Seattle...4

San Francisco...3

San Diego...5

St Louis...5

Tennessee...3

Tampa Bay...3

Washington...1

Resources...
NFL.com...accessed 10/01/2011