Any thought of having a practice squad for teams? Might make the draft more valuable by being able to place later round draft picks on a practice squad for future development at a reduced salary rather than cutting the late round picks entirely because they won't be an immediate starter. Maybe the development is a little slower there than on the main roster, but still a way to gain some depth and groom future players. May also help in times when you get significant injuries or multiple injuries and can use use that as a bench to call up a player instead of having to go to free agency each time and signing a year (or longer) contracts.

Perhaps an 11-12 man practice squad roster with a small and separate (so really good players can't just be picked up and stashed there) salary cap. Obviously the need to promote and demote a player to this squad would need to be in place. This would also help with an IR player. If a player has a significant injury with a hope of returning later in the season, they can be demoted to the practice squad to heal instead of being placed on IR and then we would have the ability to bring up someone to the active roster.

Just some thoughts.

I have thought about this as well, and do think it would be a cool idea. I need to flesh out how it would work, but it would be good. I imagine that the scout team would also influence your team's scouting play development - since those are the players that the regular roster is practicing against during the week - so you would want to get the best players you can on your scout team.

I don't like the idea, simply because we already have weak free agency. Taking 7 more guys for each team, (224 more players) out of free agency leaves nothing there. Also, the whole idea of having a roster of 53 and 46 active gives you 7 more players than you need on the roster already. Now, we are looking at a roster of 60 (for all intents and purposes), while only using 46 players each game. At that point, you may as well create a minor league system.

I like this idea.
I've only been playing a short time, and have injuries where I've had to sign 'old journeymen'.
In another thread I have mentioned about the point of not being able to extend 1 season contracts and when a player without warning becomes a 'sick-note' and you have another player on your team that you would like to promote to a longer contract, you can't. But you can re-neg the injured player or cut.

The reason for not being able to renegotiate a one year contract is to prevent owners from signing a huge one-year deal and then being able to renegotiate it into a smaller deal; it's more of a gamesmanship prevention than anything else.

Ah I see. Kind of sucks that cheaters could shape the game.
Just an idea to skirt around this issue...
If an owner did as you suggested, make it so if a contract was renegotiated it would HAVE to be for more money, in the same way an employed Head Coach can't be recruited as say a QB coach. Would that be possible?

If those additional 7 on the practise squad are improving at the time, then given practise squad players can be claimed by other teams, meaning they would potentially be better than the excisting free agent market.

I'm presuming the game would prevent the ole Bellicheat tactic of snapping a player up, getting O/D knowledge then cutting them a week later.

Only way I could see practice squad as a valid idea would that any player assigned to a practice squad would have to clear waivers. Pretty much the way it is on NFL rosters, also teams could sign players off other teams practice squads only if added to teams active roster and have to stay there for the full season so it would stop teams from signing players and then just cutting them

I think the practice squad is a cool idea but might be pretty far down the list just yet. I would think the major advantage of having a player on your PS would be; 1) you get to have your coaches "develop" the player vs. what ever happens in the FA pool 2) the player would be gaining experience with your plays 3) You can control their position assignment 4) you should get first right of refusal to sign them to the big show.

Totally worth the time to develop this, I see how this can add a lot to the game and help with making those low round draft picks more valuable in the macro sense.

I'm not really too keen on this whole PS idea. Sounds like too much work for very little reward