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Owners need to create downside for taking chances on problem players

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It’s an idea that has been percolating for years. With the latest arrest of Bears defensive lineman Ray McDonald, it’s time finally has come.

NFL teams will continue to give talented players second (and third . . . and fourth) chances because NFL teams want to win. Seven years ago, the NFL implemented a deterrent to the practice of harboring problem players by instituting a convoluted system of fines on teams with multiple players suspended in a given year.

It hasn’t worked the way it should, and for good reason.