NFL Bye Week Rules: Four Days Off, and the Bye Doesn't Count Toward Injured Reserve

The NFL's labor agreement guarantees players at least four straight days off during a bye week, and those days must include a Saturday and a Sunday. The bye does not count as a game for players on injured reserve, so the Giants' Week 8 off week does not shorten the time linebacker Tremaine Edmunds or running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. must sit out.

What the CBA requires

Article 24 of the 2020 NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement governs regular-season practices. Section 2 says players "will be given a minimum of four consecutive days off" during a bye. It adds that the "four-day period must include a Saturday and a Sunday."

The one exception is a team that plays on the Thursday after its bye. That team can require players to report the Sunday before, and the four days off move to Wednesday through Saturday. The Giants' next game is Sunday, Nov. 8, at Philadelphia, so the standard rule applies to them. Their Thursday game, against Washington on Nov. 12, comes the following week.

The same section allows a team to require an injured player to get medical or rehabilitation treatment during the time off, if its medical staff considers it reasonably necessary.

Section 1 of Article 24 caps padded practices, meaning practices in helmets and shoulder pads, at 14 for the regular season: 11 in the first 11 weeks and three in the last six. A practice without pads does not count against the 14. The team picks the days. On-field team activity is limited to three hours a day, padded or not.

The Giants' bye schedule

Coach John Harbaugh laid out the week on Oct. 26, the day after the 27-21 overtime win at Houston. Players came in that Monday for film review and a workout. Tuesday was what he called a "keep ready practice," followed by a lift and a team meeting. Then the players left.

"We have five full days plus a little bit for them to rest, recover," Harbaugh said. The team is due back Monday afternoon, Nov. 2, to start preparing for the Eagles.

By Harbaugh's description, players are off Wednesday through Sunday, Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. That is one day more than the CBA minimum and includes the weekend the agreement requires.

Why the bye does not count on injured reserve

A player placed on injured reserve must sit out at least four games before he can be activated. The rule, set in 2022, measures that minimum by games that have elapsed since the player went on the list, not by weeks. A week with no game adds nothing to the count. Our injured reserve story covers the rest of the process: the eight return designations a team gets each season and the 21-day practice window a designation opens.

Edmunds went on injured reserve Oct. 24, the day before the Houston game. That game is the first of his four. The others are Nov. 8 at Philadelphia, Nov. 12 against Washington and Nov. 22 against Jacksonville. The earliest game he could play is Nov. 29 at Indianapolis. The team listed a shoulder injury on its Week 7 injury report and has given no timeline.

Tracy went on injured reserve Oct. 27, two days after he hurt his hamstring in the second quarter at Houston. Because he was placed after that game, his four are Nov. 8, Nov. 12, Nov. 22 and Nov. 29. The earliest game he could play is Dec. 6 against San Francisco. General manager Joe Schoen said Oct. 27 the injury "won't be something that's going to be long-term."

Brian Burns went on injured reserve Sept. 29. He has missed four games since: Arizona on Oct. 4, Washington, New Orleans and Houston. Under the rule alone, Nov. 8 is the first game he could play. Burns tore his ACL in the Sept. 27 win over Tennessee, Harbaugh said the next day.

Roster moves during the bye

The transaction wire stays open during a bye. On Oct. 27 the Giants placed Tracy on injured reserve and signed running back Gregory Desrosiers to the 53-man roster from the Los Angeles Chargers' practice squad. They also signed defensive lineman Dean Lowry to their practice squad as a veteran and released wide receiver Jason Brownlee from it. As of 10:20 p.m. ET Oct. 29, the Giants' transaction tracker listed no moves since.

Other teams can sign a club's practice-squad players during its bye. During the Giants' 2025 bye, in Week 14, Green Bay signed defensive lineman Jordon Riley off their practice squad on Dec. 3, 2025, two days after the Giants' Monday night game at New England.

The trade deadline comes after the bye

The trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. ET. That is two days after the Eagles game and two days before the Washington game. "We have 14 days until the trade deadline, so we still have some time there," Schoen said Oct. 27. Our trade deadline explainer covers how salaries, picks and waivers work around it.

Players report back Monday afternoon, Nov. 2. The Giants play at Philadelphia on Nov. 8.

This explainer was scheduled for Oct. 27 and published Thursday, Oct. 29, during the bye.