Good team, but the offense is still suspect. We're listed as the league's 6th-best roster now.

Wow. I guess the addition of GL made the final difference. We had some big injuries, but won it all. The good news in terms of keeping my long-term interest is that it looks like we'll be roughly $30M over the cap to start next year, and with 30 guys under contract. At least it looks like keeping the team together will be challenging.

2027 Offseason
 

No franchisee. WLB Lynch heads to summer league.

So, uh, yeah. Cap issues time.

we have -$33.4M max for new player, and 30 guys under contract.

Running the numbers, it's looking like the only way to make this work is to cut some salary. Gone are...

TE Irving Goddard (63/63)--He has been the least productive of the three good TEs I've carried.
LCB Carlton Gambrell (59/59)--We won it all with him on the IR for the last half of the year. I don't need a potentially injury-prone big-salaried CB when I've got two other good ones.
LDE Ken George (61/61)--Same story as Gambrell. He got hurt in Week 9 and that was it.
WILB Bucky Tobeck (78/78)--Man, this one hurt. I don't have a replacement, but it was a numbers game that he had to go to make things fit without getting rid of any of my big guns on offense.
C Antonio Milloy (46/46)--Solid ratings, but really #3 C at this point.
RT Stanley Lovallo (34/45)--Has stayed right at 45 and is costing more than veteran minsal.

Same general idea as last year, just less money to make it happen. I sign three minsal vets to start:

FB Irving Ingram (42/42)--Re-sign our long-term blocking FB
SILB Bryce Maxwell (39/39)--Ratings pretty much flat across the board.
FS Tyrus Brohm (45/45)--Pretty solid ratings for a minsal guy. He played for us last year as well.

Of course, we have the 1(32) pick this year. Lots of holes to fill. Most important ones:

RG
RT
RDE

Could use immediate starters at all three of those positions.

2027 Amateur Draft
 

1(32)--LG Ross Marshal (30/51)--3 blue, 2 red--Should be a nice creeper, and will start immediately.
2(32)--LDE Ronnie Conley (13/46)--4 blue--Low development, but I really liked his combines.
3(32)--LT Graham Ross (14/27)--all black--He was the highest-developed tackle with no green combines, and I need a tackle. Hoping he creeps.
4(32)--FL Jonathan Kinzie (14/22)--4 blue, one red--hard to pass this guy up this late.
5(32)--SILB Clay Allen (20/37)--one red, 2 blue, 1 green--I only have four LBs under contract, so this guy needs to see significant playing time.
6(32)--LDT Robert Wolfe (19/23)-- 2 blue--need a backup NT.
7(32)--LCB Jeremy Carr (10/23)--2 blue--need a nickel CB

So my draftees didn't quite cost as much as I thought, giving me a small amount of breathing room. Not enough to sign anyone particularly good, but I see a backup QB I like. He's got solid (64) sense rush, knows four of the five 2-TE formations, and has 90 intelligence, so maybe he'll learn the fifth one. By my house rules, his deal must be 50% bonus. It's a bit of a risky move, but I can see him eventually being our starter as cap space continues to be an issue. He sings a three-year deal for $10M, with a $5.06M bonus. He's only rated 35/35 overall, but I think he might be exactly what we need. I also sign Jimmie Molenaar, a 39/39 backup WR. He's a minsal guy. All other signees in 2027 FA2 are minsal rookies.

2027 Training Camp Report
 

1(32)--LG Ross Marshal (30/51)--3 blue, 2 red--Should be a nice creeper, and will start immediately. Nice gain to 36/56.
2(32)--LDE Ronnie Conley (13/46)--4 blue--Low development, but I really liked his combines. No change. Not sure he'll amount to much.
3(32)--LT Graham Ross (14/27)--all black--He was the highest-developed tackle with no green combines, and I need a tackle. Hoping he creeps. Only +1. Not sure he'll be worth it.
4(32)--FL Jonathan Kinzie (14/22)--4 blue, one red--hard to pass this guy up this late. Also only +1 in a surprise.
5(32)--SILB Clay Allen (20/37)--one red, 2 blue, 1 green--I only have four LBs under contract, so this guy needs to see significant playing time. -2 camp hurts.
6(32)--LDT Robert Wolfe (19/23)-- 2 blue--need a backup NT. nice +3 guy.
7(32)--LCB Jeremy Carr (10/23)--2 blue--need a nickel CB. Only a +1.

Other changes of note:
QB Shields ws +7. but is still only 16/22. Could be interesting.
Significant drops (-11 and -7) to starting FB and RB.

But perhaps the best news of all is that QB Hickman learned a third 2-TE formation in camp. I'm starting to think that knowing three could be the tipping point.

2027 Roster
 

Pretty solid roster this year. I don't think we're good enough to repeat, but with a little luck, it's possible.

2027 Regular Season Report
 

QB Hickman and RB Gillespie both had injuries this year in the middle. Both were healthy for the playoff loss. Interesting to see that the backup with 5 2-TE formations did better than the 81/81 starter. As cap space gets more and more tight, I'm starting to wonder if the correct play is to go with a QB like Hills instead of Hickman.