What is the PUP list? NFL stars Jalen Ramsey, Michael Thomas, and more land on it ahead of training camp

The 2022 NFL season is quickly approaching as the offseason is winding down. Training camps are now open as players report to their teams' practice facilities to officially begin preparations for the upcoming season.

While being prepared is one of the most important things to focus on before the season starts, being healthy is the number one priority.

All players have spent around the last six months recovering from the 2021-22 NFL season. Football is a brutal and violent sport that is extremely punishing on the players' bodies. Recovering from injuries and all the usual beatings their bodies take during the season is always the focus of every offseason.

While most NFL players have had plenty of time to recover and will be fully healthy and ready to go for training camps, some players are still recovering from specific injuries.

Several superstars, including Jalen Ramsey, Michael Thomas, Darius Leonard, J.K. Dobbins, Marcus Peters, Byron Jones, and Carl Lawson, have joined a list of more than 50 players who will begin training camp injured.

A useful tool for NFL teams to deal with such players is placing them on the PUP list.

How does the NFL PUP list work?

New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas

The Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list can be most quickly summarized as a short-term version of the Injured Reserve list.

When a player is placed on the PUP list, they can return to the team at a later date rather than being held out for the entire season. These players also don't count against the team's 53-man roster limit during the season.

Players placed on the PUP list before the start of training camp will be allowed to return to the field at any point with no minimum requirement. As soon as training camp starts and runs until the end of pre-season, no additional players may be placed on the PUP list until the regular season officially begins.

The PUP list changes a bit for the regular season. Any player designated to the PUP list must serve a minimum of four weeks on it before they are allowed to return to the field. The minimum requirement used to be six weeks but was reduced to four before the start of the 2022 NFL season.