NFL Veterans getting pushed out the door?

[doughsellz]

An interesting topic came up on NFL Live today on ESPN: Are NFL veterans being expunged from their respective teams sooner than they used to be?

Marcellus Wiley emphatically says yes. When he was a rookie he remembers many more older vets holding down roster spots than in the current NFL.

Money was cited as being the most common reason, followed by a curious response:

Teams don't want the vocal disruptions from savvy veterans who "think" they know how to run the team.:star-wars:

It was a consensus by the 3 men discussing this that the surge of younger coaches in the league don't want to deal with players too close to their own age.

Two exceptions were mentioned: Parcells & Belichik. They don't mind veteran leadership & embrace many cast-offs & cap casualties.

It's also interesting to consider that GMs may be doing the same thing - hiring younger coaches that don't provide unwanted input on personnel decisions.

Sounds like a bunch of counter-productive macho crap to me. Put the best people in the best postion to win. Good coaches understand that their own leadership skills are limited to the sidelines.

On-field leaders don't come easy. Most players just want to do their respective jobs & not have the pressure of keeping their teammates in line too.

Accepting a leadership role opens a person up to criticism when subordinates under-perform. Leaders are a rare breed & great leaders are indeed scarce at the NFL level.

Teams would be wise to hang onto the great ones.

 

[PackersRS]

For me it's like this: If the team is rebuilding, then yes, they'll throw the veterans much earlier than they naturally would. That was/is happening to us. It began with the middle of the OL. But if the GM/HC has his job on the line, he'll resort to veteran players.

A rebuilding team takes time to win, and veteran, accomplished players usually want to win now, so when the team don't make moves to win in the current season, they "thrashtalk" the GM and Coaches. It's natural.

One can make an argument about the fear of the veterans demeaning the leadership, but I don't think it's the age issue. Although it's a lot easier to command respect from someone younger than at your age, but if you're competent and have accomplished something, people will respect you no matter your age.

It's happening more nowadays than it used to IMHO because of the free agency...

 

[Packerlifer]

Unless a player is insubordinate and disruptive I don't think most coaches or execs mind receiving helpful in-put from veterans or overlook the value of their experience and leadership.
I suspect it has more to do with the wear and tear and increased risk of investment to injury with older players than with younger ones.
We are coming to the end of a decade period, which is usually when teams and the league undergo most significant turnover. I suspect if we looked at vets being let go and not actively pursued now with 1999, 1989, 1979, etc. we would find a similar pattern.