When can NFL players return from the reserve/PUP list?

When the Denver Broncos set their initial 53-man roster later today, they will have two candidates for the reserve/physically unable to perform list: linebacker Drew Sanders (Achilles) and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell (ACL).

Players who are sidelined with injuries during training camp are eligible for the active/PUP list. Once the regular season begins, those players transition to the reserve/PUP list if they are not yet cleared to play.

Once on the reserve/PUP list, a player must sit out at least the first four games of the season. After four weeks, players have a five-week window to return to practice. Once they return to practice, the player then has a 21-day window to return to the active roster.

If the player does not return to practice within nine weeks, he will spend the entire season on reserve. And if he returns to practice but is not activated within the 21-day window, the player will remain on reserve for the season.

Health permitting, we could see Sanders and Turner-Yell return to the active roster with the Broncos later this season.