General managers quietly celebrated when NFL Europa ceased operations. After 16 years, NFL Europa lost its usefulness as a developmental league.
However, the NFL is in desperate need of a developmental league, or a system to uncover players who are on the street looking for work. If an alternative is not found within the next year, the product on the field will suffer. It is arguably suffering already because rosters are too thin.
Unfortunately, a lot of coaches and general managers are in denial about finding an answer to the increase in injuries. In speaking to general managers, most seem to think expanding developmental squads from eight to 10 players will be enough, but they are mistaken.
The Panthers signed 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde Wednesday and may have to start him against an Arizona Cardinals team Testaverde turned down an offer from. So much for the developmental squad. The list of free-agent quarterbacks is so thin, an ageless wonder like Testaverde never has to think about retirement as long as he can throw a deep fade route.
Four weeks into the season, the Bengals were down to three healthy linebackers -- each signed after Sept. 2 -- in Lemar Marshall, Anthony Schlegel and Dhani Jones. In the Monday night game against the Patriots, Marshall blew an Achilles tendon and head coach Marvin Lewis alternated a safety and a defensive end at outside linebacker.
The Texans have been down three wide receivers -- Andre Johnson, Jerome Mathis and Jacoby Jones -- leaving them with only two remaining wideouts from the 53-man roster that opened the season. They signed David Anderson, a developmental receiver familiar with the system, who had only one career catch. Amazingly, he was the best option.
Injuries will only increase as the season progresses, and this problem will have to go straight to the commissioner's office. The good news is commissioner Roger Goodell already has some of his people asking questions, and Goodell cares enough about the game to do something in the next year.
The likely answer is having a developmental camp set up by the league and operational from September through late December. This camp could take advantage of many of the former NFL head coaches, former NFL Europa coaches and top positional coaches and trainers waiting for their next opportunity.
The camp could be set up in Florida, where the weather stays consistent throughout the season. The cost won't be anything close to the $1 million per year NFL Europa cost owners. The financial formula would be simple. The 32 teams will share the initial costs. Teams that sign players from the camp will compensate the league for the expenses of the player during his stay.
Aside from creating a readily available group of players, a developmental camp would also represent an aggressive move. League officials and directors of the camp could show flow charts to recruits that demonstrate how being there will virtually guarantee getting back in the NFL.
After all, injuries will always take place. What the players need to be worried about is learning and being ready for the call to sign with a team.
Before the end of the season, the NFL has to come up with a training camp roster limit higher than 80. The signing of NFL Europa players allowed camp rosters to swell into the 90s. Most believe it will go to 87, but owners have to sign off on bigger increases.
Once the season begins, a bigger developmental squad is also needed, as even a 10-man developmental squad would only give coaches one inexperienced player per position. The Rams put three offensive linemen on injured reserve for the season. The Bills lost two linebackers, two defensive backs and a tight end for the season.
As a result, coaches and general managers are forced to go to the streets to find players, and right now they are not finding them. Coaches get antsy if a veteran player misses one day of the offseason program. How can they accept a player who merely trained at a high school track without supervision for six- to-10 weeks?
The problem is too many drafted players are slipping through the cracks. An astounding 93 draft choices from the past two years are currently not on 53-man rosters. Many are on practice squads, but the rest are wasting away.
Even more concerning are the 75 draft choices from 2005, 78 from 2004 and 65 from 2003 currently not employed. They are out of sight out, out of mind and probably out of shape.
Coaches may argue these players simply aren't good enough, but 46 of them were taken in the first three rounds of draft. They can and should be rebuilt.
The process would actually be simple. The camp would feature coaches capable of teaching various systems, and each practice will be open to scouts from every NFL team.
Particular attention has to be paid to quarterbacks. It is a joke that nine teams finished the month of September believing they could survive with only two quarterbacks on the roster (12 teams have already turned to backups). Part of the reason is they don't like the other options, and it makes more sense to have a special teams player active instead of a third quarterback.
But these teams will eventually need to find another quarterback somewhere. It is time to come up with a solution. With the wise decision to hold out players with concussions, teams will be forced more and more to look for replacements. Why not give them a place to look?
It's a good business investment for the game.
John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.