Terrell Thomas of the New York Giants could be a perfect candidate for the new provision negotiated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement allowing teams to activate one player from the Injured Reserve list per season. Except that the rule is not yet in effect because though owners have approved the IR exemption, the NFL Players Association has yet to sign off on it. "The NFLPA is strongly in favor of adding flexibility to the Injured Reserve designation," said George Atallah, assistant executive director of external affairs. Approval of the rule by the players is apparently tied to other issues.