Nice idea, but it leads to nowhere. "All roads lead to Rome" because you are just too good. Even with low ratings you will dominate your league, and if you keep stuck on the bench despite your great stats, you will start to complain. Just think of Road To The Show, I think it was 08, when at the start of your career you would be sent back to AAA even when posting otherworldly numbers because of your low ratings. What did people do? Complain.
I for my part suck at career modes, and I do live the life of a fringe player stuck in AA or as the third string running back. If you want to have more "realistic" careers, then simply don't play sports games as often and don't own everybody
So there's no solution to this, as long as you keep controlling your player directly. There have been text based games like the old "New Star Soccer" that demand decisions and you just click on what you would like to do. Do you try a risky dribble or do you pass the ball? It's probably the most "realistic" thing in terms of narrative, but who would accept a text based career mode in, let's say, "Madden"?