03-17-2022, 03:06 AM
(03-17-2022, 01:17 AM)fredtoast Wrote: No team can survive without getting some production from players on rookie contracts. You can't just fill every position from the free agent market.
Why not sign vets for them to compete with in camp? Vets along the lines of perhaps a Blythe or a Reiter tier of player? With this approach, if a younger guy outplays a vet in camp, they win the spot on the depth chart. Maybe they'd trade or cut a veteran at that point. I'm not arguing that they can fill every position. I just see it as negligent to not make every effort to have 5 OK starters and one backup who they can feel good about before the season starts. The identity of this team is that of a pass first offense that will live or die by its QB/starting WR trio. I'd double down on that identity by giving them more time to operate. Here's a grim stat: Joe Burrow is 2 for 2. He has played in two NFL seasons and has suffered a knee injury at some point during both of them. To just assume that he'll be like Russell Wilson or Ben Rothlisberger who can get by with fewer than 5 legitimate starters on the line seems like wishful thinking to me. If they spend more resources on the OL to ultimately have to make some difficult cuts after a bloodbath of competition, that seems like it'd be worth the investment. Brady, Peyton Manning, etc. were rightfully treated as the focal point of their respective teams - and rightfully so. Why not do the same for Burrow? Why not take every precaution so as to ensure that 2 for 2 doesn't become 3 for 3?
