Rashard Mendenhall surprisingly was taken off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, which got us thinking. (A rare occurrence.) Mendenhall no longer is eligible for the reserve/PUP list for the season. But will he eventually be eligible -- like any other player -- for the injured-reserve exemption rule that owners approved back in May?
The answer, for now, is no. The rule hasn't been finalized, and the same is true for the proposal to move the trade deadline back from Week 6 to Week 8. When it was voted on in May, there was a caveat. The NFL Management Council and the NFL Players Association would have to agree on the details before the rules were officially implemented.
We checked in with NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, who confirmed Friday that the issue hasn't been resolved. Past rules apply at this stage. It's unclear if the two rules will be rubber-stamped in time for the 2012 season.
Both of these rules seemed like no-brainers, and perhaps they just haven't been that high on the priority list. As we've seen over the last few years, however, it's not always easy for the NFL and the players' union to agree on much of anything.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
