What is the emergency quarterback rule in the NFL? All about league's unique system

A new rule change for quarterbacks on NFL rosters became official prior to the start of the 2023 season. It would allow teams to designate one player as an emergency third quarterback outside of their active roster for each week of the season. They essentially serve as the 49th man on the active roster, which normally allows 48 active players for each game day.

How does the NFL emergency quarterback rule work?

Emergency quarterback rule (GETTY)

Each NFL team is allowed to carry a full roster of 53 healthy players, excluding those on the injured reserve list, into each week of the season. They are then tasked with making five of those players inactive for game day, so their 53-man roster consists of 48 active players. One of those five inactives is allowed to be an emergency quarterback that can be used in certain situations.

If a team has exactly two quarterbacks on their active roster and both are forced to leave the game due to injuries, their emergency quarterback is then allowed to enter the game. Teams are not permitted to use that quarterback in any other situation, such as a player being benched for their performance rather than being ineligible to return.

If either of the first two quarterbacks recover from their injuries prior to the end of the game, they are allowed to re-enter but are not required to. The third quarterback may only enter the game in the defined emergency situations, but once they are in, teams have all healthy options available for the position.

The purpose of this rule change is to allow teams to have a third quarterback on their weekly depth chart without using one of their 48 active roster slots on that player. They can instead serve as the 49th man and only enter the game if the other two officially active quarterbacks are incapable of taking the field during the course of action.

Can anyone be named the emergency quarterback?

Certain restrictions exist within the NFL's rule on naming an emergency quarterback. They can only use one if their active roster has exactly two players who play specifically the quarterback position and nothing else. If they already have three active quarterbacks, they are not permitted to use a 49th man on game day.

The emergency quarterback designation must also only be used on a player to play quarterback and they may not enter the game in any other position. That player must also already be on the team's 53-man roster, excluding any player on their practice squad. Teams that meet these stipulations may take advantage of the new rule created ahead of the 2023 NFL season.