FOF 2004 - Signing seriously injured players
 

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?

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.

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.