*The ISFL's Cutest Free Agent

[SwagSloth]

The S23 regular season has officially concluded and, for some teams, that means they will enter the playoffs. For others, it means that their focus now shifts toward the S24 season and with that shift comes a focus on Free Agency. Free Agency can be unpredictable. Some offseasons have been relatively quiet while others have proven to be just as entertaining as the season itself. And, while we don’t yet know if any major superstar will shake up the league by testing Free Agency this time around, one of the league’s most unusual (and cutest) players appears to have thrown his name into the hat.

Within the last 24 hours, rumors coming out of Arizona began to stir and we can now confirm that the Outlaws’ current lead RB “Baby” Yoda has informed team management that he will be testing Free Agency. This came as a major surprise to league experts as Yoda is generally regarded as one of the league’s happiest and most positive players. The word going around behind these rumors is that Yoda does seem content in Arizona, but wants to explore his options. Some speculation has centered around Yoda’s expected usage as Arizona QB Jay Cue ran the ball 112 times for 583 rushing yards and 5 Touchdowns, eating into Yoda’s workload. The miniature Running Back totaled 305 attempts himself for 1171 rushing yards and 10 Touchdowns; he ranked #3 overall in most attempts, #5 in total rushing yards, and #4 in rushing Touchdowns (tied with New Orleans’ Marcella Toriki). However, the common knock against Yoda (in addition to his size) is his yards per carry, where he ranks #18 overall with only 3.8 YPC. This could be related to his smaller stature or possibly just a case of being overworked. Arizona holds the rights to the Pythons’ Joseph Petrongolo, who excelled in the DSFL and has the makings of a future star RB. It wouldn’t surprise many experts to see an athlete like Petrongolo come in and take over the majority of the carries. Yoda is beloved by fans across the league, but his critics have painted him as more of an “unofficial mascot” than a legitimate athlete and perhaps that is the narrative that the marvelous munchkin wishes to challenge. Speaking to his fans on social media, Yoda confirmed his entry into the Free Agent pool, posting the following:

“Thank you to all of my fans and my friends on the Outlaws. It has been a great season. I’m very sad that we didn’t make the playoffs, but I know we all tried very hard and I’m very proud of all my teammates. I have not yet signed a contract, mostly because the contracts are very long and they are hard to read. I even fell asleep a few times! So, I got an agent person to help me look at it and they taught me about Free Agency. I might come back, but I think I’m going to talk to all the teams first. I love being an Outlaw, but I also want to be able to travel around and meets lots of new friends, too. Sometimes change can be scary and I will miss you guys so much if I don’t come back, but I think it’s important to be brave and try new things. This is going to be a busy offseason and I don’t know what to expect next, but no matter what, you will always be my friends.”

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Just a quick OOC note: I’m extremely grateful to Arizona for drafting me and bringing me back for the last 3 seasons. I’ve practically been with the team since S11, almost 2 years IRL. I still love the team and you guys will always have a place in my heart, but I think it would be good for me to step out of my comfort zone and see what’s out there. You have all been tremendous teammates, but I feel myself growing complacent and I think I just need to shake things up a bit. The team is in great shape and I’m truly proud of the work that Unicorn, XQC, our war room members, and so many of our teammates have put into the team. Joefish is a fantastic guy and I’m happy to pass the torch to him if this is indeed the end of my run with the team. As far as the other teams go, we’ll talk soon. I’m working on another piece of media that will talk about what I’m looking for in a team and I’ll drop that closer to when FA talks open up, but right now, I’m walking into Free Agency with an open mind and no team is off the table. Please wait until talks open up as I do not want to invite or encourage tampering. I just wanted to officially thank Arizona for treating me so well and get the word out so that interested teams can start planning ahead. As a former GM, Free Agency can be a bit rushed and I think it helps the GMs out a lot when players that plan to test the market in advance let teams know a few days early.

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your time has come @Jo3fish5

[Jo3fish5]

:sad: :hug: