I lost my highly rated cornerback to retirement, he had 9 years in the league and there was no heads up so at the end of the season, so I didn't look for trades or replacement through the draft. The FA market is very slim and for reasons beyond my comprehension my team is giving up 16 points more a game than last year. Anyhow it would be nice if a player would announce his retirement a few weeks before the end of the season, say sometime between weeks 10-12 so we have some reaction time !!

You would have all off-season to try and replace him, the thing is that defensive back talent is always a pain to find in this game, especially for teams that win consistently and pick late in the draft. This happens in real life too where a guy doesn't give a heads up and then just retires when the season is over.