I use a loose house rule in offline franchise similar to ND's "3 + 1"...
I allow myself to make three moves TOTAL in the season / offseason that can be any combo of:
In season contract extension
Off Season resign players
Sign a player from the FA pool in offseason
Trades
If I need to sign a roster filler player for any reason (injury or to make it to 53) that player has to have an QVR lower than the lowest rated player in that position or position group...those guys don't count in "the three"...
I also refer to RedZone's "Player Value Chart" from years back, when need be:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...any-forum.html
Lastly: I try to keep my team about 25 million under the cap...
You can still develop and field a playoff caliber team, but if you pick one of the lower rated ones (as I always do), it takes a couple years to build 'em up and it's relatively tough to keep them competitive...