The Game Status Report section has been modified to eliminate the “Probable” category and redefines the “Doubtful” and “Questionable” categories.
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Basically, expect the injury report to list a whole bunch of players as “questionable” each week – especially if you are reading the New England Patriots’ roster.I mean injury report. Now doubtful will mean a player has a below 50% chance of playing.
Teams now have two options for listing players on the injury report: questionable and doubtful.
“Questionable” players, per the policy, are “uncertain” to play.
The probable classification began as a term for players who suffered an injury but were likely to start the next week.
For years, National Football League injury reports have listed players who are probable. While these changes streamline the process, they create a much broader range for “questionable”, allowing visiting teams to keep the truly injured players under wraps until they head to the site of the game and leave the injured players behind.
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The Miami Herald reported Sunday that the league dropped the term because it was misleading, and players designated as “probable” usually ended up playing. For home teams, the question of whether a “questionable” player will play won’t be finally resolved until the list of inactive players is filed 90 minutes prior to kickoff. If he did not practice, the terminology will be “did not participate”. In theory, this will minimize speculation about a player who in truth is cleared for normal duty. However, if such a player is then deactivated for the game, the club will be required to provide an explanation to the league, and will be subject to possible discipline.
