The system automatically places the IR (Injured Reserve) or IL (Injury List) tag on a player once ESPN receives the league's status report. Only players with the IR (Injured Reserve) or IL (Injury List) tag are eligible; the day limit does not matter.
At its most basic and simple level, when you place an eligible player into the IR/IL slot, you gain an open roster slot. As long as the IR/IL player is eligible for the IR/IL slot, basic waiver offers and free agent pickups will remain unchanged.
Where it can get tricky is when you attempt to pick up a player via waiver claim or free agency, and the player's status in the IR/IL slot changes. The system will always ensure that you do not exceed the roster size limit for your league.
Some scenarios to consider when making a claim while you have a player in an IL slot:
- If you have a healthy player in an IR/IL slot, you cannot add any new players to your roster.
- When you attempt to acquire a free agent with a healthy player in an IR/IL slot, you will receive a message to clear your IR/IL before you can make a claim.
- If you have a player on your IR/IL who becomes healthy between when you made the waiver claim and when the claim processes, the claim will go through as normal.
- You will still need to free up a roster slot before you can move the now healthy player out of the IR/IL slot.
- If you have an open bench slot when you make a waiver claim but then activate an IR/IL player before the claim processes, your claim will fail.