But an injury on Jan 1 is far more impactful than one in early Nov. You can’t always recover and be at full strength from a sprained ankle, bruised thigh, or other mid level injury in time to start the NFL workouts. And since ‘measurables’ are so critical to the NFL it can make a big difference.But that same injury could occur in game 12 against MSU. Or game 11 against Rutgers. Which, if you subscribe to some of the posters here, are games that do not matter because only games which affect the CFB championship game matter.
It just becomes a slippery slope of "either play or don't". I'm not making decisions for anyone, but I cannot imagine not playing if in their shoes.