Game-time decision loophole helps teams avoid having to downgrade players from questionable

The 49ers managed to avoid punishment for the apparent concealment of running back Christian McCaffrey's true injury status on Monday, in large part because the NFL doesn't need to be telling the world that teams are violating the letter or spirit of the injury-reporting rules.The specific question as to McCaffrey was whether the 49ers should have downgraded him from questionable to doubtful or out before putting him on the list of inactive players 90 minutes before kickoff.So we asked the league the question of whether a team has an obligation to downgrade a player the moment they know the player's status has changed."If after the team arrives at the stadium on game day, a club conducts a workout for a player to determine if the player will be able to start or play in the game, the club is not required to update its Game Status Report if the club determines that the player will not start or will not play," the league said in an email to PFT. "In this situation, the club is permitted to wait until the 90-minute meeting to list the player on its Inactive List."That creates a very significant loophole, allowing teams to keep the information secret until 90 minutes before kickoff -...