What Is The IR Spot In Fantasy Football? How Does it Work?

Andersen explains how the Injured Reserve (IR) spot can be a valuable tool for savvy fantasy football managers. Learn how to use the IR to stash injured players or navigate strict roster limits.

NFL players put their bodies on the line every week. Whether it's a quarterback leading his receiver into a nasty hit, an offensive lineman using all of his power to hold back a defender, or a linebacker laying out a running back at the line of scrimmage, every player in the league is going to leave with at least some bumps and bruises after each game — or perhaps worse.

Injuries are bound to pile up over the course of an NFL season, and it's inevitable that they'll impact your team. Fortunately, many fantasy football leagues have implemented an "Injured Reserve (IR)" spot to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with a player missing time due to injury.

What is the IR spot in fantasy football? How does it work and why should you pay attention to it? Here's everything you need to know.

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What Is The IR Spot?

The IR spot is a designated space on your roster to place players who will miss time due to injury. Rather than leave the injured player on your bench with the rest of your healthy players (or drop them to satisfy strict roster limits), you can place them on your IR where they will be separated from the rest of your roster.

A few exceptions aside, you can leave them on the IR for the duration of their injury, and since the IR is separate from your active roster, you will open up a space on your bench that could be filled by another player — perhaps one that will replace the injured player in your starting lineup.

Fantasy managers should refer to their league settings to determine whether their league uses IR spots, and if so, the number of spots available. Typically, leagues that have larger rosters will have more IR spots available. After all, a larger roster translates to more players who could get injured.

Many commissioners created additional IR spots within their league during the COVID-19 pandemic when players were missing games at an even greater frequency due to the league's safety protocols. This gave managers additional flexibility when their players were ruled out, sometimes just a couple of hours before their game.

De'Von Achane to return from IR.

The Fantasy Football Community: pic.twitter.com/IK0KYxymjc

— Michael Hauff (@TheFFRealist) November 13, 2023

How Does The IR Spot Work?

IR rules may vary by league or platform, but typically, managers can only place a player on the IR if they have been ruled out for the week, were placed on their team's injured reserve, or have been designated as physically unable to perform. It's less common for commissioners to permit the placement of suspended, doubtful, or questionable players on IR.

It's worth noting that a player will typically not be eligible for the IR in fantasy football if they have not officially been ruled out by their team. For example, even if an NFL insider reports on Friday that Deebo Samuel is listed as questionable but will not play, platforms will usually wait for official confirmation from the team (perhaps as late as 90 minutes prior to kickoff when inactives are released) before allowing Samuel to be placed on IR.

Savvy fantasy managers can also use the IR to circumvent positional limits. Some platforms do not consider IR spots toward your roster limits and you can use this to your advantage. Let's take the following situation as an example:

Your league settings only allow six wide receivers on your roster at once. You currently have wide receiver Deebo Samuel (listed as "out") on your bench and running back Saquon Barkley (listed as "out") on your IR. You have an open bench spot and would like to add Darius Slayton, but that would put you at seven receivers — one over the limit. Instead of unnecessarily dropping a bench receiver, you can move Samuel to your IR (now, you have five receivers on your roster) and move Barkley from your IR to roster, if necessary. Then, you can fill your existing empty spot with Slayton, giving you six receivers on your roster.

Don’t cut Christian Kirk in fantasy football land if you can help it — stash him on IR so he gets a championship ring too

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 5, 2023

Other Notes On The IR Spot

Although players can be moved to and from your injured reserve during the week, it is usually not possible once lineups lock at kickoff. Furthermore, although many platforms allow you to change your lineup for a future week, most platforms do not permit managers to adjust their IR for a future week.

Additionally, if a player is not on their team's actual injured reserve or PUP list, they will likely revert to "questionable" the day after their game. This happens because teams have yet to compile an official injury report, so the platforms are left to make an educated guess on the player's status without officially designating them as "out." Since managers typically can't make roster moves with an ineligible player on their IR, anyone utilizing IR spots may have to make some roster moves before submitting waiver claims for the week.

Me fighting to keep my fantasy football season alive…

Kyren Williams coming off of IR in Week 12: pic.twitter.com/4vD2IjTC2B

— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) January 1, 2024

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