01-04-2023, 09:57 PM
If players don't want to play, let them go on some kind of bereavement list until they are ready and bring up replacement players from the practice squad. The league can relax rules and let teams bring up more than the usual players from the practice squad.
But what the NFL should not do is allow teams to just forfeit, as that can have implications for other teams. If the Bills, for example, forfeit, to New England, that would impact two teams on the bubble. They can certainly find enough players who emotionally can go and play the game.
Not all teams are having the same experience and so they shouldn't be penalized if other teams are not emotionally prepared to have a full squad. I don't like to quote Harbaugh, but his view is: "We'd be excited to be playing for the division crown. That's something that we're hopeful for. That's really beyond us. Our job is to go win the game."
But what the NFL should not do is allow teams to just forfeit, as that can have implications for other teams. If the Bills, for example, forfeit, to New England, that would impact two teams on the bubble. They can certainly find enough players who emotionally can go and play the game.
Not all teams are having the same experience and so they shouldn't be penalized if other teams are not emotionally prepared to have a full squad. I don't like to quote Harbaugh, but his view is: "We'd be excited to be playing for the division crown. That's something that we're hopeful for. That's really beyond us. Our job is to go win the game."
