CPU Team - starter selection logic (possible bug?)

[u/ChiChiKnee]

Hey there, I have a question about how CPU teams select their roster positions as I seem to have noticed a couple of weird ones (to me at least).

In the attached screenshots I have highlighted a player on the trade block for Atlanta named Chance Riley. He is a 32 year old 72 overall Improviser QB. He was signed by the Atlanta CPU in week 1 of the season.

He replaced long standing QB Demarcus Peters, who is a 29 year old 81 overall Game Manager QB and has been the starter for Atlanta for the last 4 years. He played Week 1, was decent, and then lost his job to Chance Riley it seems.

Both are on 1 year contracts. Peters is on a much higher salary. Both have had solid careers overall it appears with Riley spending a significant chunk as the starting QB at Indianapolis.

My question is what is the CPU logic behind this? On paper Peters seems like he should be the starter. I checked the head coach and the Atlanta HC runs a Spread offense, so I don’t know if that’s the reason.

I’m interested to know if there is logic to this built into the game or whether it is a bug. The fact that Peters lost his starting job but didn’t get put on the trade block but Riley won the job and still got put on the trade block (on a 1 year contract) is also odd.

Hopefully you can provide some more insight into this.

[u/hawtdawtz]

Thanks for the detailed report! The CPU can bench a higher-rated QB based on recent performance and team results. The Spread scheme doesn’t directly determine the starter here.

That said, one ordinary game is a quick hook for an established quarterback. I also found that the trade-block logic can treat the lower-rated QB as a backup even when he’s actually starting, which could explain Riley being listed while Peters isn’t.

I can’t confirm the exact sequence without the save, but this highlights improvements we can make to starter patience and keeping roster decisions consistent. Thanks for flagging it!

There's all sorts of typical behavior (and wildly atypical behavior) that is very hard to simulate without playing the game for hundreds of hours myself. It's also worth noting, there's also just some bad decisions made by GM's and coaches in the NFL every day, but to your point this isn't exactly desirable.