WI John Madden Never Got Hurt?

IOTL, John Madden was drafted 244th overall by the Eagles in the 1958 NFL Draft, but a knee injury in training camp kept him from ever playing a game in the NFL. What if he never hurt his knees? How good of a player might he have become? Moreover, who would EA’s football video game series be named after?
 
He'd probably be let go by the Eagles during the preseason...maybe spend some time in the CFL or earn a spot on an AFL roster.

Or...

He could ride the Eagles bench in '58 and '59 and be picked up by the Cowboys in the 1960 expansion draft.
 
He'd probably be let go by the Eagles during the preseason...maybe spend some time in the CFL or earn a spot on an AFL roster.

Or...

He could ride the Eagles bench in '58 and '59 and be picked up by the Cowboys in the 1960 expansion draft.
Looking at the OTL 1960 expansion draft, the Cowboys did take a tackle from the Eagles (Jerry DeLucca). DeLucca was still serving in the military during the 1958 season, though, so if Madden is on the Eagles in 1958, perhaps DeLucca never gets traded to the Eagles (he was originally drafted by the Bears). Madden would likely be the tackle taken from the Eagles in TTL’s 1960 expansion draft (instead of DeLucca). If DeLucca still gets traded to the Eagles and still gets taken by the Cowboys, though, maybe Madden starts at left tackle for the Eagles in 1960?

Alternatively, if he does get cut by the Eagles in the ‘58 preseason, would he be able to sign with a CFL team immediately or would he have to wait until ‘59? I see two likely scenarios if the Eagles cut him:
- He stays in the CFL for a couple years, then goes to the AFL, and stays there until the AFL-NFL merger.
- He stays in the CFL for a couple years, then goes back to the NFL.

Thoughts?
 
Looking at the OTL 1960 expansion draft, the Cowboys did take a tackle from the Eagles (Jerry DeLucca). DeLucca was still serving in the military during the 1958 season, though, so if Madden is on the Eagles in 1958, perhaps DeLucca never gets traded to the Eagles (he was originally drafted by the Bears). Madden would likely be the tackle taken from the Eagles in TTL’s 1960 expansion draft (instead of DeLucca). If DeLucca still gets traded to the Eagles and still gets taken by the Cowboys, though, maybe Madden starts at left tackle for the Eagles in 1960?

Alternatively, if he does get cut by the Eagles in the ‘58 preseason, would he be able to sign with a CFL team immediately or would he have to wait until ‘59? I see two likely scenarios if the Eagles cut him:
- He stays in the CFL for a couple years, then goes to the AFL, and stays there until the AFL-NFL merger.
- He stays in the CFL for a couple years, then goes back to the NFL.

Thoughts?

He could manage to stay on the Eagles roster as a backup thru 1960 and maybe land a spot with the Vikes in the '61 expansion draft. Madden could be part of an O-Line that can still pick up Tingelhoff in '62.

Or...George Allen could bring Madden to LA...maybe the Rams could use an extra blocker to protect Gabriel?

In the AFL, here are some places he could end up...

Under Hank Stram, Madden could block for Cotton Davidson in Dallas, or later on Len Dawson in KC.

Maybe Houston while they still have George Blanda and Billy Cannon.

San Diego already has Ron Mix and Walt Sweeney around this era, so I'm not sure if the Chargers' O-line would be too stacked for Madden to have a chance over there.

Denver was a laughingstock in the AFL days, so maybe Madden could change that and make Frank Tripucka or Marlin Briscoe into a stud. Maybe open up some running lanes for Lionel Taylor?

How about Buffalo even though the Bills have Billy Shaw?
 
I like the way you think. I think you’re right about San Diego being too stacked, but I’m curious about the other options.

I definitely like the Denver scenario, and I also like the Vikes, Rams, and Houston scenarios. Buffalo is interesting too.

With the Dallas/KC scenario, maybe Madden sticks around in KC long enough to prevent the Davidson-Taylor incident? (Or maybe a similar incident occurs before the AFL-NFL merger that causes the AFL to separate during-the-play and after-the-play penalties, and the post-merger NFL decides to do the same? That way, the Chiefs don’t get screwed out of a playoff spot.)
 
Well, unless he gets a few really bad hits, he should have better insight to the game of American football than OTL, meaning he manages to get more than one Super Bowl ring as a head coach by the time he moves into the back office, and stuff like zone blitz packages and play action passes in a hypothetical John Madden Football work much better on "realistic" difficulty levels before the PlayStation era.
 
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