When Should Teams Give Up on Injury Prone Players?

Awhile back I wrote an article about Brett Favre and questioned what age was "too old" to play football.  The main point that I made in that article is that a player should be able to play as long as they want to, given that a team wants them.

While I was watching my favorite teams play this weekend, another thought struck me:  Why don't some players know when to quit?

Of course, a lot of people think that Brett Favre should have "known when to quit."  However, he can still play at a high level and lead his team to victories, so that line of logic is just a lame attempt to keep him out of the game by his detractors.

What I'm talking about are injury prone players that are past their prime, collecting fat paychecks, whom constantly miss games because of one affliction or another.

My beloved team, the Seattle Seahawks, have been plagued by injuries in each of the past five seasons.  The constant rhetoric spewing from the mouths of media and loyal fans is always, "If we could get healthy..."

In the two years after the Super Bowl the Seahawks made the playoffs both times, however, they were limited by injuries to the offensive line and most notably, Shawn Alexander.

Alexander never returned to his former self after his injuries and the team finally released him.  However, we've clung to everyone else who can't seem to stay healthy.  We traded for Deion Branch, who at the time seemed like a great deal for us.  We lost a draft pick, but gained a Super Bowl MVP.

My elation was quickly subdued when he couldn't even complete a full 16 game season with us in the first couple years.  I kept hearing coaches, media, and the fans saying: "If Branch can get healthy..."

Well, he never did.  Four seasons later, he has missed the first two games of the 2009 season already.  He's now 30 years old and never had over 1k yards receiving or more than 5 touchdowns.  He's never going to get healthy and he's never going to produce.  If he can't play a full season at 25, why do people think he's going play 16 games at 30?  He finished, and it's time to move on.

Walter Jones is a Hall of Fame left tackle and has earned his legendary status.  However, at 35, his body is worn down and he simply cannot stay healthy.  He missed most of last season, and has missed preseason and the first two games of the 2009 season because of knee surgery.

Matt Hasselbeck is a 3-time Probowler and owns a lot of team records at quarterback.  He's been a solid player at that position since his arrival in 2001.  Unfortunately, since 2005, he's only had one 16 game season and after his injury against the 49ers in week 2, it doesn't look like he's going to be reversing that trend anytime soon.

Seattle players currently injured: Deion Branch, Walter Jones, Marcus Trufant, Leroy Hill, Lofa Tatupu, Chris Spencer, Matt Hasselbeck, Sean Locklear, Brandon Mebane, Josh Wilson, Justin Griffith, and Julius Jones didn't play in the second half of last weeks game.

How can a team expect to win with so many injuries?

I'm not saying that a team should cut everyone that gets injured, but enough is enough.  It's time to cut people with fat paychecks and zero playing time.  These players are eating up valuable salary cap and roster space that could be used for players that can actually contribute to the team on the field.

I'm fed up.  I'm tired of the perpetual "what ifs."  The Seahawks have shown that they cannot get healthy and it's time to cut those who can't play and fill the rosters out with players who can.