Let's examine one player every year since 2000 who, if not for the guy who actually appeared on the cover, could be adequate enough to fill his place. In the first part we'll take a look at those first 10 years in which the Mut 24 coins series featured an athlete as the main cover.
It's a bit odd to consider this mathematically however to be able to use this for Madden 24. you need look back to 1999's season to locate a suitable player. Eddie George is one of six players that appeared in the Madden cover following his appearance at and then losing in the Super Bowl the previous season. Eddie George was one of six players on the cover. EA group could've taken with the tribute option and went using Dan Marino (retired) or Troy Aikman (playing his last season in 2000). Aikman came off an extremely average season. It was also the first time that a player made the cover It would have been unusual to select someone similar to Marino who wasn't in the game anymore.
I believe the best choice would be Kurt Warner. While I didn't like the Rams and, as an avid Steve McNair fan, the Rams-Titans Super Bowl was the first sporting event that made me cry -- you can not ignore this Kurt Warner story after he helped them win the Super Bowl win, picking an MVP award in the process.
Could the cover been cursed by this man, too? Warner had a rough season in the year 2000. He was absent for five games, which led to the number of touchdowns he scored being cut in half, and throwing for less than 1.000 yards. He would come back in the following year with a second MVP and a Super Bowl appearance.
The two players most likely to be in this case were teammates, however, they were not Culpepper or Moss. Peyton Manning tied Culpepper for the lead in passing touchdowns and also led his team in NFL with passing yards. He was among the top 10 players in passes intercepted, however, the same was not true for Culpepper.
However, my pick would be Edgerrin James. In his second season as a professional, James led the NFL in the number of yards he rushed for the second time in consecutive years. James also scored the fifth-highest number of touchdowns he scored rushing, and was being the top player in his fellow players in the buy Madden 24 coins with total yards gained from the line of scrimmage.