FOF 2004 - Signing seriously injured players

[QuikSand]

I wonder if anyone has tried this enough to have a track record?

Generally, I have ben so bitten by the "injury prone" tendency of players with a past that I find them not worth pursuing. However, a few seasons ago in my latest career, I signed my long-time LT, even though he was out with a two-year injury -- just to keep him around, plus his demands were very low. Turns out he made a full recovery, and uis back to his old self both in ratings and results - and he's playing for peanuts!

I've tried the same sort of thing again - there was a very solid DE in the free agent pool in my latest off-season, great ratings, but a 24-week injury. During the late FA process, his demands dropped to under % of the salary cap. I put in an offer and signed him pretty cheaplyfor a three year deal -- knowing full well that I will see absolutelynothing in year one, and possibly nothing afterwards. But if he fully recovers, I have an $8 million player signed for well under $2 million each of those years.


nyone done this enough to have a sense of whether the gamble pays off? Certain things to look for? Certain positions that work better than others?

[VPI97]

I've tried it enough times to definitely see it as 'hit or miss'. In the times I've signed a long-term injured player, I've had guys recover with bottomed out ratings and guys with pre-injury ratings. When I see someone like this, it comes down to if I have the cap space to spare...I don't think it's a waste to take a flyer on a guy like that, but when he recovers I haven't seen any indicators that would clue me into how his recovery will be.

[Sidhe]

It's even a bit more complicated than that.

I had a great LT go down to a year and a half injury. I re-signed him for less than he was getting, but he came back with numbers in the high 40s. I can use a guy with his skills, but he's probably making a little too much at that rating. So it's not bottom out or keep the old ratings, there's a middle ground too.

When I have the cap space I'll take a chance on some of these guys, but I usually look into their history to see if they've been missing a lot of games. If it's a multiyear thing, then I pass.

Even that hasn't guaranteed me anything.