NFL injured reserve totals tell a typical tale

Posted by author February 27, 2025 Sports

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A breakdown of the number of players on injured reserve or other injury lists at the end of the 2024 season.

Anyone that has ever read what I write or listened to what I often say knows how much I despise what I refer to as “lazy narratives.” Perhaps the biggest and most egregious is the cavalier way in which injury impacts on NFL teams are treated.

I get it. Coaches are trained to repeat the mantra about “next man up,” while claiming that “all teams have injuries.” They have to. The can’t send a negative message to their team or have the “no excuses” crowd raining criticism on them.

The reality, of course, is that analyzing injuries isn’t an excuse. It’s an explanation of why things happen.

The insanity is when fans and some in the media buy those narratives hook, line and sinker so they can rip the head coach (or play-caller, or quarterback) for everything that went wrong.

While it’s true that all teams do have injuries, the obvious facts are that not every team has the same amount of injuries or at the same position groups.

A detailed look at the 2024 season shows that clearly, while also revealing that the teams with the fewest total injuries were the most successful.

The team-by-team list below shows the total number of players who were on reserve/injured lists at the end of the season. Obviously, there were many other players that were on reserve during the season that came back to play or were released.

The total number of players on reserve at the time of the Super Bowl was 377. That included seven on reserve/physically unable to perform and 12 on reserve/non-football injury or illness.

It’s easy to notice that only two of the 16 teams with 12 or more players on reserve were in the playoffs: the Detroit Lions and Houston Texans. Of the 17 Lions on reserve, 13 were on defense, while 11 of the 16 Texans were on offense including two wide receivers and four tight ends.

The Arizona Cardinals tied with the Lions for the third-most total (17), while Cleveland (22) and San Francisco (19) were the top two.

Conversely, of the 10 teams with nine or fewer players on reserve lists at the end of the season, eight were in the postseason. The four teams in the conference championship games totaled 28 players on reserve: Kansas City Chiefs 10, Philadelphia Eagles 9, Washington Commanders 5 and Buffalo Bills 4.

Below is the list of all teams and their number of players on injured reserve and other injury lists (non-football injury and physically unable to perform), from most to fewest. Those on physically unable to perform or non-football injury/illness are included in the team total. Teams with an asterisk were in the playoffs.

Cleveland Browns: 22 (1 NFI)
San Francisco 49ers: 19 (1 PUP)
Arizona Cardinals: 17
*Detroit Lions: 17 (1 NFI)
*Houston Texans: 16 (2 NFI)
Miami Dolphins: 16 (1 PUP, 1 NFI)
N.Y. Giants: 16
N.Y. Jets: 16 (1 NFI)
Dallas Cowboys: 15
Cincinnati Bengals: 14 (1 NFI)
New Orleans Saints: 14 (1 PUP)
Tennessee Titans: 14
Carolina Panthers: 13 (1 NFI)
Atlanta Falcons: 12 (1 PUP)
Chicago Bears: 12
Las Vegas Raiders: 12
New England Patriots: 12 (1 NFI)
Seattle Seahawks: 12
*Pittsburgh Steelers: 11 (1 PUP)
*Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 11 (1 NFI)
*Kansas City Chiefs: 10 (1 NFI)
*L.A. Chargers: 10
Indianapolis Colts: 9
*Philadelphia Eagles: 9
Jacksonville Jaguars: 8
*L.A. Rams: 8
*Baltimore Ravens: 7
*Green Bay Packers: 6
*Minnesota Vikings: 6
*Washington Commanders: 5
*Denver Broncos: 4 (1 PUP, 1 NFI)
*Buffalo Bills: 4 (1 PUP)

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