Questionable, doubtful, out: how to read the NFL injury report

Two reports, not one

Teams publish two different things each week. The practice report comes out after each of the three practices before a game and says how much an injured player did. The game status report comes out with the final practice report and gives the team’s expectation for game day. For a Sunday game that means practice reports on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with game statuses on Friday. Thursday and Monday games shift the same schedule earlier or later.

The three game designations

• Questionable: it is uncertain whether the player will play. This is the widest category by far. It covers everyone from a star who is certain to suit up to a player who is a true coin flip, so the practice report and beat reporting matter more than the word itself.
• Doubtful: the player is unlikely to play. Treat a doubtful running back as out when you set your lineup; it is rare for a doubtful player to be active.
• Out: the player will not play in that game.

There is no “probable” any more; the league dropped it in 2016. A player who practised during the week and carries no game designation is expected to be available.

Reading practice participation

• Full participation: he took his normal share of practice. A full practice on the final day is the best sign a questionable player will go.
• Limited participation: he did less than his normal workload. The direction across the week matters most: limited, limited, full is encouraging; full, limited, did not practice is not.
• Did not participate: no practice. One missed practice early in the week often means little, and veterans are regularly given rest days that are labelled as such. Missing the final practice is the strongest warning sign on the report.

When a team holds a walkthrough instead of a full practice, the report is an estimate of what the player would have done. Estimates are less reliable than reports from real practices.

Inactives are the final word

Every team announces its inactive list about 90 minutes before kickoff. That list, not Friday’s designation, decides who plays. A questionable running back can be ruled inactive at that point, and a backup you were counting on can be a healthy scratch. If your league lets you add free agents until kickoff, the window between inactives and the start of the game is when a handcuff’s value changes fastest. We send subscribers an update when game-day inactives change one of our picks.

What each status means for the backup

• Starter out or doubtful: the handcuff is no longer a stash. He is the expected lead back for that game, and by the time the designation is public he is usually gone from the wire. This is the situation a stash is held for.
• Starter questionable: the most valuable time to own the backup. He costs little, and he becomes a starter if the news breaks badly. Even when the starter plays, a team may trim his workload.
• Backup questionable or out: the insurance behind the starter is weaker. Look at the next back in the room, because he is the one who would actually get the work.
• Nobody listed: absence from the report is not proof of health. Teams report what league rules require, and injuries happen in games, not on reports.

Our running back injury report applies exactly this reading: every back with a designation, his role in the backfield, and the next man up. Each handcuff page flags it when the starter or his backup is on the report.

Longer absences: injured reserve

A player placed on injured reserve is out for multiple weeks, not one game; under recent league rules he must miss at least four games before he can return. For fantasy purposes that turns a handcuff from a one-week replacement into a multi-week starter, which is the best outcome a stash can have. Roster designations like this come from team transactions, not the weekly injury report, so check a dated source before you act.