NFL Rules on Game Roster

During the regular season, an NFL team can carry as many as 53 players on its roster. Not all of those players are allowed to play in each game, however. Some will be declared "inactive." NFL rules on game roster are spelled out in the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players' union.

  1. Active Players

    • From its 53-man total roster, an NFL team may designate a maximum of 45 players as "active" for each game. With one exception, known as the "third quarterback" rule, active players are the only ones allowed to dress in uniform for games and play in them. A team can activate fewer than 45 players, but according to the labor contract, it must have at least 42 active at all times.

    Inactive Players

    • Those players not on the "active" roster are "inactive." These players are under contract just as are the active players. They practice with the team and do everything the active players do, but on game days, they cannot be in uniform and cannot play in the game. They're welcome on the sidelines, but must be in street clothes.

    Movement

    • Teams can freely move players between active and inactive status. However, on game day, each team must submit to the league the 45-man active roster that will apply for that game.

    Emergency Quarterback

    • Each team is allowed to designate one inactive player as its "third quarterback" or "emergency quarterback." That player, usually the team's third-string QB, can dress in uniform for the game and is eligible to play--but if he comes into the game at any time in the first three quarters, then neither of the team's first two quarterbacks may return to the game. If he comes into the game in the fourth quarter, then the team's other quarterbacks are free to return.

      Some confusion surrounds this rule. The designation "third quarterback" leads some to think these conditions must apply anytime a team puts in a third player at quarterback. But if the team wants to carry three quarterbacks on the active roster, then any of the three can come into the game at any point. The same holds true if the team wants to carry four or five active quarterbacks. Teams simply prefer to keep only two QBs active, because spots on the active roster are so valuable.

      Another misconception is that the third QB can play only if the two active quarterbacks are injured. That's not the case; it's the coach's decision whether to bring in the third quarterback.