Next free agency steps go nicely - I up my offer to DE Pugh from $24m to $26m, and I get him -- outbidding a $25m offer from elsewhere that tried to top my initial bid. So, that worked out perfectly.
Then, we get the guy I rated as the top defender in the draft -
LB Rico Rison. He's a solid all-around LB but my plan is to move him to DE, or at least play him there primarily, and hope he can become the centerpiece of our pass rush for a while. I wasn't sure what to bid - there was an early offer of $35m/yr for him, another team went after him with $43m/yr, but I got him for $47m/yr. This game-within-a-game of guessing what real people might bid for obvious targets is honestly one of my favorite parts of this game at this point.
Incidentally, Rison is NOT an affinity fit (gasp) but needs prevailed here.