I think both sides are correct, that the Packers did break the legal lawyer reading of the IR rule... but Brandt is probably right that at the end of the year, that the NFL let's teams break type of rule, for the past couple of decades.

Though based on the wording I've seen, I'm confused who decides the injury classification as major or minor. I know that minor is supposed to be less than 6 weeks until healed, but it looks as if the team doctors get to make that decision (along with greater medical staff that may or may not directly work for the team).

Point being is that it seems like any of the team doctors could give any and all of the injuris a major injury classification level, even if they heal in 3 weeks and just say, "oops it healed faster than we thought". The punishment for doing this on purpose is NOT automatically, said player is a free agent... but whatever the commissionor decides should be the punishment.

So even if the Packers purposely broke this rule, the commissioner would have to come up with a punishment that he could get out of the Packers stock holder meeting alive... plus the commissioner normally wants to sweep things under the rug... unless other owners and/or high staff members are getting after him. This just doesn't seem like something that would upset the normal owner, because it's hard to see them seeing lose their star player due to a paperwork error.

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The rule is in place to prevent a team from stashing a not severely injured or healthy player on IR. If GB did this w/ Rodgers the NFL will order his release, PERIOD! Not sure what concoction of psychedelic drugs is being imbibed or what idealolic mancrush fan drool insanity is capturing imaginations of those that think this rule won’t be enforced because it’s Rodgers.

But, as is so often the case, this reporting is sensational click-bait attention seeking poppycock.

Teams don’t routinely abuse the spirit of IR rules at end of year. Sure, some are put on IR with a “3 week injury” with 2 games left; but only with the blessing of the player and the NFL. If the league don’t sign off, the guy is not IRed. Also, there is nothing in the IR or DTR-IR rules speaks of a new injury, so these clowns opining that Rodgers needs a new injury to go back on IR is 100% absurd. The only question to consider is does GB have a legitimate medical basis for IRing the player; if so, as Tony Saprano would say, “forgetaboutit.”

Every player that plays gets injured during the season. Some players are allowed to play, some are not. Some play a game or two; the med or coaching staff doesn’t like the way the injury responds and the player is put on IR. 99% of the severity of injury is unique to the person, often with volatile speculation amongst experts as to what injuries a player can play with or which must be shut down.

Rodgers has an injury that takes at least 6 months to fully heal. This is an immutable scientific fact at this stage of our scientific knowledge. In this case the team let Rodgers play with an injury that was not fully healed and decided to IR him after one game, so what? No one could say 1265 was wrong for letting Rodgers play weeks 15-17, or leaving him on IR, or letting him play 1 game and IRing him for the last 2; because a reasonable medical basis can be established for all three scenarios.

Whose behind it: No doubt, the 3 “convicted” of civil RICO and mobbed-up Saprano-wannabe Wilf brothers [Ziggy, Mark and Lenny (Who they call a cousin, but is an inbred brother)], who used their daddy’s launder mob money to buy their little play toy Vikings instead of a red fire engine are behind this. If there’s a 2nd team, I’ll double down on dhazer’s thoughts on Browns. They have the most to gain; that ole’ sneak Dorsey is trying creatively acquire Rdogers.

Do you have access to the new bylaws on DTR-IR rules? Because I've been looking for them and it'd be nice to see them especially to see the "new injury" or lack there of. Because without that "new injury" part, then this whole drama is based on lies.

You seem to be the only person that believes the NFL will actually force his release... for me, it has less to do with "because it's Rodgers" (other than GB would kill him), but much more to do with that fact I can't remember the NFL enforcing this rule in the last couple of decades... so while Packers could get punished, I don't see anything more than a draft pick taken away and a team fine.

Also you said teams don't abuse abuse the rules, and then followed it by saying, sure they do (if they have the blessing of the player and the NFL). Note, they don't always have the blessing of the player... just like Packers reportedly didn't have Rodgers blessing as he wanted to keep playing.

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I didn’t say NFL would force Rodgers’ release; I simply indicated that if GB violated a Constitutional bylaw [they didn’t] it will be enforced. The legal ramifications for the league looking the other way on this would shake the NFL to its core; perhaps end the league as we know it.

You speak of what you think the punishment should be; but this BYLAW provision has a punishment built in: the player is released as soon as healthy. So, that is what will happen, PERIOD. Now, if the league deems that’s enough of a punishment, then it’ll end there. If not, then fines and/or disqualifying picks could be incurred on top of Rodgers’ release.

There is no “readable” set of bylaws; the 1970 Bylaws you’ve probably found are it; plus 10,000 changes 😂. Some of the individual changes [thru 2006] can be found online attached to the 1970 bylaws. It’s a lawyers’ way of making sure they’re needed in the future.

Probably the closest thing online to what you’re looking for is: 2016 BYLAW PROPOSAL NO 7 , which was adopted as is.

You’ll notice there is no language about returning an IR-DTR guy to IR; I mean who’d have thunk it, right? There’s no language that indicates a player must be 100% recovered from his injury to be activated. It’s then logical to assume a guy who was restored to the roster thru IR-DTR goes to IR under the same provisions as anyone else would. So think of it this way: Rodgers is not put on IR, but is inactive for 8 weeks with injury; he plays week 15 and is then put on IR. No one would say a word. It is much less complicated than some are making it, as it has ZERO to do with the IR-DTR designation. It’s about 1 thing: did GB have a medical basis for shutting Rogers down? And who can argue that a not fully healed broken collarbone in a QB’s throwing shoulder is not a “major injury?” NO ONE!

The apparent logic is that Rodgers’ shoulder was healed; therefore it would take a “new injury” to put him on IR; hence, if there was no new injury; Rodgers was illegally stashed on IR. But, given the nature of his shoulder injury this logic is 100% a pile of steaming bulldung.

Next there was concern about teams violating/not violating the rules being some sort of contradiction. What was articulated is that a team might violate the literal language of the rule, while at the exact same time being 100% compliant with the “spirit” of the rule. Some WRITTEN rules easily convey their spirit, for example, a speed limit sign on an interstate. After reading the sign one knows exactly what is expected and enforcement is simple, go 1 MPH over limit and both the WRITTEN language and SPRIT are violated.

You know the spirit of the IR rule; you can imagine its abuses and difficulties in its enforcement. It is impossible to WRITE an IR rule that allows for an exact classification of time missed given the millions of different and degrees of severity of those injuries; varying medical opinions; and varying reactions or responses to therapy by different players to the exact same injury; etc. This IR WRITTEN rule can only at best provide a guideline, wildly subject to interpretation and extenuating circumstances.

Someone quoted Brandt as saying people are put on IR with “hangnails” as season’s end. Can’t believe he was so flip; but if he said it, he was walking out on a long limb of poetic license. If a team submitted a report to NFL that a guy was going on IR because of a hangnail [As Brandt suggests]; the league would say, “WTF, there better be an infection that threatens the future use of the appendage because this seems bogus, you can expect an investigation.” If the team is smart, and they generally are, they won’t IR this player for a simple hangnail.

You talk about Rodgers wanting to play; but a player must agree to be illegally stashed on IR. If the player insists he can play and the team says we dont care what you think; he will notify his rep and the NLFPA will inform the league of the player’s concerns. If the IR request isn’t shot down by the league upon its submission; the team knows an investigation will probably ensue. So it’d never gets this far unless the team was highly confident they had a medical basis for IRing the guy and the player/union a dunce.

The problems will come for a team when they say the player has a broken collar bone and it is later learned the team lied or exaggerated the injury.

If a team informs the league a guy has a an ankle sprain guaranteed to keep him through the end of the year; and the NLFPA and player “sign off;” and the NFL signs off; then the rule isn’t violated. Even though NORMALLY, the ankle sprain MIGHT not be considered a 6 week injury.