As part of their roster cutdowns on Saturday, the New England Patriots have placed three players on non-football reserve lists. Among them was third round draft pick Antonio Garcia, who was designated with a non-football illness. Early on, the thought was that the rookie was eligible to return later during the season.
However, according to patscap.com's Miguel Benzan, this might not be the case. Benzan refers to a section in the NFL Communication's “Important Dates” release that explains the NFI procedure in great detail (highlights added):
Beginning on the sixth calendar day prior to a club's seventh regular season game (including any bye week) and continuing through the day after the conclusion of the 11th regular season weekend, clubs are permitted to begin practicing players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform and Reserve/Non-Football Injury or Illness for a period not to exceed 21 days.