NFL coaches don’t care about fantasy football, or how we go about setting our lineups. If anything, we’re probably a nuisance: We’re always trying to get information about their players, and insight as to whether they’re playing in the next game, and how effective they might be.

Unfortunately, that puts us in the same boat as their opponents, which means the subterfuge they use against them will also impact us in a negative way. And the tools they use to deceive us often include the words “questionable” and “limited.” If you’re not paying close attention, misinterpreting those words can cost you games.

The injury designations used to be pretty simple: “Probable” meant they’re playing, “questionable” usually meant they’re playing, and “doubtful” meant they’re a longshot to play, but there’s a chance. “Out” always meant out, of course. But the one that impacted our game was always “questionable,” which was something to watch, but more like a step away from probable. Teams would use it to play mind games (Bill Belichick gave that designation to a bunch of players who were definitely playing) and it would almost be a surprise if a questionable player didn’t actually play.

Now, things are a little different. Probable players always play, doubtful players never play and questionable is a legitimate toss-up label. Chris Godwin was questionable for weeks when everyone knew he wasn’t playing, for example. CeeDee Lamb was questionable last weekend, and everyone knew he was going to face the Rams. So getting a questionable tag has fantasy players scrambling to get more information on a player, and a main source of that information is their practice status. And often, that status raises more questions than it answers.

Like the “probable” label, a “full” practice schedule means a guy is playing. A “DNP” label is like the old doubtful tag: They’re a longshot to play. Coaches will tell you that a guy can play without practicing, but the truth is that if they don’t take the field during the week, they rarely take it on Sunday. And that leaves us with the “questionable” of practice status: “Limited.”

What does “limited” mean? Nobody really knows. Technically it means less than 100 percent of normal reps. So is it a bit of a rest, 90 percent of normal reps, 10 percent of normal reps, or something else? Are they purposely holding them out of some reps to put some doubt on their status, or trotting them out on the field to do the bare minimum to make teams plan for them just in case? Sure. It’s probably one of those.

The point is, a questionable tag and a limited practice means you have more work to do than in previous years. Unless you like surprises on Sunday morning, you’ll have to dig a little deeper than what the league requires. That means beat writers, other informed opinions, and even studying the type of injury and their personal injury history for more insight as to their availability. It also means putting contingencies in place, or simply benching them for that week if you're pressed for time to do the proper research.

The above information isn’t news to you, but you need to know that the league is changing. Those designations have less meaning than they did in previous seasons. And with new player safety protocols in place, a player’s status is truly questionable, even with a limited practice schedule. A questionable tag and a limited practice isn’t good news, or bad news. It isn’t even news. It’s just an asterisk, requiring more research. If you had a level of confidence in either designation previously, get rid of it for the rest of 2022. Otherwise, you're risking lineup mistakes that can cost you dearly.

I won’t even get into the Wednesday (veteran maintenance) DNP versus the Friday (just try to do something) limited tags. You can drive yourself nuts, especially if Wed-Fri is DNP-DNP-limited and you know how important the Thursday practice is. In fact, forget I brought it up.

Personally, I’d rather see teams use “out” when they know a guy isn’t playing, or “probable” when all signs point to him taking the field. Eliminate “questionable” entirely. And “limited” should be banished and replaced with “majority of reps” and “minimal reps.” But what’s the likelihood of that happening? Doubtful, of course.

With so many injuries, expect a lot more confusion going forward. All you can do is find some reliable Twitter accounts you like, have a contingency plan in place, and watch for the inactives an hour before kickoff. If you do that, you’ll be in good shape. Probably, anyway. Good luck this week.

How do you discern the difference between questionable (leaning probable) and questionable (leaning doubtful)? Would you risk playing a questionable player on Monday night with no chance to replace them? Has a team ever burned you with their sketchy use of player designations? Share your thoughts below.