03-01-2023, 05:04 PM
(03-01-2023, 01:59 PM)ochocincos Wrote: To the bolded, that's not surprising, although it might be disappointing to some.
While the roster is championship-caliber, it's silly to not try to improve it with a FA or two, as not all spots have above-average starters.
But if this holds true, expect (to the sadness of some) for pretty much all the starters to stay the same and the draft to use as fill-ins for a starter or two, and the rest depth/future starters.
The first order of business is to try and get a Burrow extension done. Even if it is not, the should at least know the general contours of the deal. But if they can get it done and show it to other guys as an example of a guy sacrificing (some) for the greater good, it will go a long way to getting others to do the same.
Which is the second order of business. Trying to retain our starter level FAs on deals we can handle under the cap: Bates, Bell, Pratt, & Hurst. Bates is all but gone, and we have D. Hill in house to take over. The others seem doable under the right circumstances. A Mixon restructure possible.
Then try to get the integral reserves back: Perine & Apple. Maybe Flowers. The rest of the FAs are fringe guys who will either come cheap and/or will still be unsigned when the draft goes down.
After the dust settles on the early stages of FA, we can re-assess & try to fill any starting holes (if there are any) via draft or FA (if we lose guys and have significant space as a result). If all goes well, we will be drafting for depth or possible upgrades with existing starters becoming depth pieces.
Of the FAs, I'd go: Bell, Pratt, Hurst, Perine, Apple.
