Quarterback Injuries Catalyze Player Signings
AP - During week 9 of the 1992 NFL season two key quarterbacks around the league suffered minor injuries that have caused their respective teams to sign free agents. The Buffalo Bills lost Jim Kelly to a pinched nerve, and the Buccaneers had Vinny Testaverde fall to a strained achilles.
To cope with their loss the Buffalo Bills decided to sign 27 year old Erik Wilhelm (69 Ovr) to a contract. Wilhelm has spent 3 years in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals after originally being drafted by them in the 3rd round of the 1989 NFL draft. However Wilhelm became a cap-casualty player this off-season and left prematurely many thought, from the Bengals franchise. Wilhelm signed a 1 year $550,000 contract with a $70,000 signing bonus to play behind Frank Reich (77 Ovr) on the Bills squad. In all likelihood Jim Kelly will be back within 3 weeks but the Buffalo Bills aren't taking any chances with only one healthy quarterback on the roster.
Meanwhile the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also had their own insurance policy plan laid out with the signing of 5 year pro, John Fourcade (72 Ovr). Fourcade originally joined the New Orleans Saints in 1987 and had a couple respectable years as a backup. As a rookie he went 2-1 on his 3 game start stretch with 597 yards 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Then in 1989 he started 3 games and had 930 yards 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions and won all 3 games for the Saints, showing promise. Fourcade is still relatively young at 28 years old so his future in the NFL isn't doomed as a backup, however he'll battle it out with rookie Dave Brown (75 Ovr) for the #2 spot in Tampa. Brown will most likely start but Fourcade will add an established youngster to Tampa's depth chart and at only $750,000, $150,000 of which was a signing bonus, Fourcade's 1 year deal is perfect.
Injuries have plagued numerous teams around the league, but luckily there have always been a few solid answers in the free agent pools. However the quarterback position is starting to thin out with the signing of Erik Wilhelm and it will be interesting to see how teams cope with any losses at that position in the next few weeks, as well as see how the Bills and Buccaneers deal with the loss of their star quarterbacks.
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