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Opinion: Far from being forgotten, the NFL’s ‘replacement players’ may help make football safer

Long a footnote in sports history, NFL "replacement players" may help researchers better understand how playing professional football affects long-term health.
Chicago Bears' coach Mike Ditka talks with quarterback Mike Hohensee, a replacement player for the Bears during the three-week NFL player strike in 1987.

When NFL players went on strike in 1987, NFL teams scrambled to fill their rosters with replacement players, individuals who had some experience with college or professional football but who weren’t on NFL rosters that year. The games they played during the three-week strike were exceedingly unpopular with fans, and the replacement players became a footnote in sports history.

So it’s ironic that these players may actually play a vital role by helping us understand how playing

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