In stages 3-4 of free agency, we add (and retain) some defensive beef:
Julian Ricks is long in the tooth, but a solid starter for us, and a big cohesion/chem help
Marty Collins joins up on a cut-friendly deal. He's got a profile that's perfect for us to play almost anywhere, but most likely on the outside. If the rookie doesn't look ready, this is probably our starting LB. Not a long-term solution, but this team seems good enough to be thinking short term.
Mark Rudoff rounds out the acquisitions here, and he's a big one for us. Real money in this deal. 7th year guy, so again not "the future" but I suspect he will be a future 8-sack guy for us. Career PR% under 4, we can get more out of him than that, I'm confident, as he'll rotate inside and out. Big find.
Lying in the background here is a certain reality. These guys were basically the two best fits for us of all the available free agent players, in terms of skill sets but mostly chemistry. Yes, that's how I build my teams, and part of that is overpaying when the right guy comes along. I paid Rudoff $30m oevr 4 years with a fair bit on bonus, his other offers came in at 24 and 26. Not a huge split - I have been on the hook for a good deal worse in my pursuit of "just the right guy" in many leagues. Collins is a different story, my offer there (to such an old guy) was basically only going to get accepted if nobody else was willing to put in a qualifying offer (he was asking for a lot). It worked, he's mine, if I want him. (That $13m price tag might prove costly, but I eat no bonus if we walk away)
Side note: it's a game weakness that this sort of contract is even entertained in this game, in my view
So... sorry for today's posts being sorta out of order, but my defensive front is in much better shape after today's stuff than it was yesterday. Honestly, these were the three main things I wanted to do in free agency this offseason. Still glad to have some youth via the draft, but I'd rather ease them in than force them into critical roles immediately.