NFL injury report designations are the labels teams must put on hurt players during the week. The practice report says whether a player Did Not Participate, was Limited, or was Full. The final game status report, filed after the last practice of the week, lists a player as Questionable, Doubtful, or Out. Questionable means it is uncertain he plays, Doubtful means he probably does not, and Out means he will not.
Updated Sept. 17, 2026.
The report runs on a schedule set by the league. For a Sunday game, teams file a practice report on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Each hurt player gets one of three tags: DNP for Did Not Participate, Limited for less than his normal workload, and Full for a normal practice. The injury itself is listed by body part, not by diagnosis, so you see knee or hamstring rather than a sprain grade. Teams are fined for leaving players off or shading the truth, which is why the reports are more honest than a coach's press conference.
The Friday report adds a game status. Out means the player will not play. Doubtful means it is unlikely he plays, and in practice doubtful players almost never do. Questionable means it is uncertain, which is the one that matters. Most questionable players end up playing, but a questionable player who did not practice all week is a much worse bet than one who was limited Wednesday and full by Friday. The league dropped the old Probable tag in 2016, so questionable now covers everyone from a near lock to a true coin flip. The final word comes 90 minutes before kickoff, when each team names its inactives.
For fantasy, the practice trend is the signal. DNP, DNP, Limited with a questionable tag usually means he plays but on a snap count. DNP all week usually means he sits, even with a questionable tag. For betting, the Friday report is when lines move: a starting quarterback going from questionable to out can swing a spread by several points, and a star receiver listed doubtful shows up in the total before he is ruled out.
A running back tweaks a hamstring on Sunday. Wednesday he is DNP, Thursday DNP, Friday Limited, and he is listed Questionable. He is active on Sunday but plays 60 percent of the snaps and his backup gets the goal-line work. His fantasy manager who started him gets a quiet day, and the bettor who took the under on his rushing yards got the better side of the practice report.
It is uncertain whether the player will play. Most questionable players do play, but the practice report tells you more: full or limited on Friday is a good sign, no practice all week is a bad one. The inactives list 90 minutes before kickoff settles it.
Out means the player will not play, full stop. Doubtful means it is unlikely he plays, and in practice doubtful players almost never suit up. For fantasy and betting, treat doubtful as out until the inactives say otherwise.
They describe practice, not the game. DNP is Did Not Participate. Limited means he practiced but did less than his normal workload. Full means a normal practice. A player who goes DNP to Limited to Full over the week is trending toward playing.
Category: CBA & League Rules. Part of the StickToTheModel NFL Encyclopedia.