NFL injury reports explained: DNP, limited, questionable, doubtful and out

Every week of the NFL season, teams publish two kinds of injury report. The Practice Report shows how much each injured player did in practice. The Game Status Report, the one most fans call the injury report, says whether a player is expected to play. They use different words, and mixing them up is the most common way to misread a player’s status.

The Practice Report: DNP, limited, full

Any player with a reportable injury must be listed, even if he takes every rep. A reportable injury is one that caused a player to miss a game, kept him from finishing one, or keeps him from his normal practice work. Each player gets one of three labels:

Practice Report categories

Label	What it means
Did Not Participate (DNP)	He did no practice work that day.
Limited Participation (LP)	He took less than 100 percent of his normal repetitions.
Full Participation (FP)	He took 100 percent of his normal repetitions.

Teams must name the body part, such as ankle or wrist, rather than a vague term like “upper body.” For a quarterback’s throwing arm or hand, or a kicker’s or punter’s leg or foot, they also have to say left or right. Veterans who sit out for rest are often listed as DNP with a “not injury related” note, which means nothing is wrong.

Estimated reports

When a team holds no practice or only a walkthrough, it still files a report, listing what each player would have been able to do. That is common on the Monday of a short week. Before Thursday’s Week 6 opener, neither the Broncos nor the Seahawks practiced on Monday, so both filed estimates; Denver’s listed cornerback Pat Surtain II and safety Talanoa Hufanga as non-participants with ankle injuries.

The Game Status Report: out, doubtful, questionable

Game Status Report designations

Designation	What it means
Out	He will not play.
Doubtful	He is unlikely to play.
Questionable	It is uncertain whether he will play.

There is no “probable” anymore. The league dropped it in 2016 because about 95 percent of players listed as probable played anyway. A player who is certain to play is simply left off the Game Status Report, even if he was on the Practice Report all week. If a team leaves a player off and then deactivates him, it has to explain why to the league and can be disciplined.

When the reports come out

Reports are due by 4 p.m. ET, which is 11 p.m. in Cairo right now, or as soon as possible after practice ends.

Reporting days by kickoff

Game day	Practice Reports	Game Status Report
Sunday	Wednesday, Thursday, Friday	Friday
Thursday	Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday	Wednesday

Inactives: the final word

The last answer comes 90 minutes before kickoff, when each team gives the referee its list of inactive players for the game. That is why a questionable player can still be ruled out on game day, and why “out” on Friday and “inactive” on Sunday are not the same thing: out is a prediction made two days earlier, while the inactive list is the official roster for that game.

How to read a week of reports

• Watch the trend. DNP on Wednesday, limited on Thursday and full on Friday usually points to a player who will play. Three straight DNPs usually point the other way.
• Limited can mean many things. It covers anything from one missed drill to a few individual reps, so the final designation matters more than one limited day.
• Questionable is a wide range. It covers players who are close to certain and players who are close to out, so coaches’ comments and pregame workouts often say more.
• The roster designations are separate. Injured reserve, the physically unable to perform list and return-to-practice windows are roster moves, not weekly report labels.

During the game

The policy also covers injuries that happen during games. Teams must report the injury and the player’s status, such as questionable to return or out, as soon as it is known, and share the update with the broadcaster, the media and fans in the stadium at the same time.