If you have noticed the IR spot on your fantasy roster but aren’t sure what it means, you’re not alone. Many fantasy football managers aren’t aware of what IR stands for.
Fantasy football IR stands for Injured Reserve. You can place players on IR in order to open up an extra roster spot for the upcoming week.
Your bench or roster no longer contains a player who has been placed on IR. Instead, you can add a player from the waiver wire to your team.
A player must be deemed out of the game or placed on the injured reserve in real life.
You should be able to place them on your roster in the IR slot as long as they are labelled as out or IR.
The GB acronym or O beside a player’s name are also similar terms to IR in fantasy football.
A player placed on the injured reserve in fantasy football is different from a player placed on the disabled reserve in real life. In real life,
a player being put on the injured reserve typically means their season is over.
After being placed on injured reserve, only two NFL players can return to the field.
Prior to returning to play after being placed on injured reserve, you must spend at least eight weeks inactive.
Nevertheless, the NFL injured reserve has the same purpose as a fantasy injury reserve. When players get injured on an NFL team, they are placed on the injured reserve.
As a fantasy manager, you can place any player that is out for a single game on the IR. You can also place and remove as many players as you want.
To be removed from the NFL IR, players must be inactive for at least eight weeks in order to resume playing.
How Many IR Spots Should You Have In Fantasy Football?
One of the biggest debates in fantasy football revolves around how many injury spots should be on each team. The vast majority of leagues will have one or two IR spots.
The Case For More IR Spots
Having these spots enables fantasy managers to reduce the effects of bad luck. Anyone who has played fantasy football for a long time has experienced a season with a lot of injuries.
Due to the limited number of IR spots, you usually have to carry some injured players on your bench.
In addition to missing your most valuable players, this also clogs up your bench, making it more difficult to find a replacement.
Using two or more injured players gives injury-plagued teams a better chance to compete.
The Case For Fewer Spots
There should be a maximum number of injured reserves on a fantasy roster since a higher number can leave the waiver wire wide open.
After one game on injured reserve, players are no longer eligible for reinstatement. If each team is able to fill a few injured reserve spots, the roster for each team will be a bit larger.
If teams are able to hold onto injured players without using a bench spot, waiver wire players can fill the bench spot.
Each week, this limits the available talent on the waiver wire.
Teams will hold onto players instead of making difficult decisions on who to cut and release to waivers, which can make the league a bit less exciting.
It is helpful to discuss this topic within your league and determine what the majority of managers prefer for the number of injured reserve spots on a roster.
In Fantasy Football, How does the IR Work?
At first glance, the IR may seem complex, but it is actually quite straightforward.
You simply move players to injured reserve when they can’t play the next game or for a long time.
A player on the injured reserve should look just like any other player on your roster. However, your fantasy website will only allow you to place injured players there.
Once a player moves to injured reserve, you will have one vacant spot on your roster. The injured reserve player cannot be added to your waiver wire if he is not removed.
As a consequence of removing a player from the IR position, you may have to drop a player. When they return, you must remove the player you picked up to fill their position.
This is all about IR in fantasy football. There is some discussion about handcuffs in fantasy football and the red newspaper beside a player’s name.