Part of the process with players reporting to training camp is how far they've come along with their respective injuries (or in Keith Rivers case, showing up suddenly with a shattered wrist, but whatever). There are questions especially with players that suffered season-ending injuries last year, or that underwent offseason procedures that may take a little extra time to get back on the field.
The Cincinnati Bengals announced on Wednesday that offensive tackle Andre Smith won't be on the field when the Bengals start practicing. He was placed on the Active/Non-Football Injury list, which for our purposes follows the sam rules as the Physically Unable to Perform list; with the major difference being financial in nature.
Interesting enough, there were no reports of any injuries or rehabilitation for Smith during the offseason. However, according to reports, it appears that Smith is dealing with a calf injury that's not believed to be serious.
Smith will be joined by Cedric Peerman (ankle) on the Active/NFI list.
Fullback Chris Pressley (knee), running back Bernard Scott (knee), quarterback Zac Robinson (elbow), wide receiver Tyrone Goard (finger) will open training camp on the Active/PUP list. Pressley and Scott are coming off season-ending knee injuries against the Eagles and Dolphins respectively.
The good news is, considering they weren't listed, that cornerback Dre Kirpatrick, offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, and center Trevor Robinson will be ready to go.
Long snapper Bryce Davis was also placed on the Active/Non-Football Illness list (which makes is seven players on injury lists).
Active/PUP relates to players being unable to start training camp with a football-related injury -- Active/NFI is related to an injury that's non-football related. There are no rules governing them to sit out of practice for any amount of time. Once they are medically cleared, they're allowed to practice that moment. At this point, every mention of PUP that you're seeing pop up around the NFL, refers to the Active/PUP. It's the less catastrophic Armageddon version, but it enables players to eventually become eligible for the other PUP list (which benefits teams with players still recovering).
Then there's the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List. If by the end of the preseason a player isn't medically cleared yet, he can be transferred to the Reserve/PUP, which prevents that player from playing and practicing during the first six weeks of the season -- however that player doesn't count against the 53-man roster. If the player isn't activated after the sixth week, the team has a three-week window to make a decision (injured reserve, release, activation).