Report: Some teams unhappy with how exempt list being used

According to a report, there are some NFL teams that are unhappy with how the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers have made use of the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list.

The complaint, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, is that the Vikings and Panthers have been able to shove a couple of key players with pending legal issues into a closet without having to cut them or trade them.

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According to NFL.com, per the NFL Player Personnel Policy Manual:

"“The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances. The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic. The Commissioner also has the authority to determine in advance whether a player’s time on the Exempt List will be finite or will continue until the Commissioner deems the exemption should be lifted and the player returned to the Active List.”"

Some teams are complaining that the list is allowing the Vikings and Panthers to, in essence, carry 54 players.

"“It was really put in place for players coming off suspension to get reacclimated,” Florio quoted a league source as saying."

The flip side to that argument, however, is that teams forced to keep players such as Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy on the active roster are essentially operating with 52 players, assuming the player would be deactivated for each week’s game.

Leaving them active also allowed the players to practice and attend games, something they cannot do while on the exempt list.

The reality is that in the current climate, the list will be used more and more for players facing criminal charges that bring with them pressure from fans, sponsors or the media to not be allowed to continue playing.

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