[Abe Sargent]

Se. we’ll see about TE Kovacs and C Leggin. C Roger Person is 29 years old, 54/54 and costs me 6.7 mill this year and 7.8 next, and to resign him is 8 mill a year. Leggin could be a cheaper, younger, better replacement who just fell into my lap.

Right now I have a ton of cap room - 9.7 mill, and even if I left some open for signings in case of injury, that’s a lot of cash. Is there anyone out that that appeals to me? Next year, again, I have expiring in two years OT Starks, C Pearson, DT Grossman, SS Gilchrist, and my P and K. No major players other than RB. Sure, CB Hanks or TE Logan or FB Wheatley are there. So I want to keep Starks for sure. Starks is 72/72 and a strong OT. He’ll want a serious pay upgrade to stay with me in the range of 10 mill a year. We’ll want on both though, for the re-signing.

I’ll likely resign Grossman, who’s falling off a bit in strength, so should be cheaper, and then use the cost savings for RB and OT.

Are there any folks expiring that I want to lock up, cheaply, right now? I don’t want to rely on my 1 or 2 next year to grab replacements in the draft reliably. OLB Upshaw, who already dropped to 36/36 isn’t someone I want to retain. DE Willis? He’s 29 now. We’d have to pay him in the 2.4 range for two more years.DE Dana Webster wants the same or a two year extension. That I do. I extend Webster. I have 4 of my LBs expiring this year:

OLB Upshaw
SLB Bobby Turner
MLB Irving Ward
WLB Shawn Brantan

It increases his salary to 3.1 mill, but I extend MLB Ward. I can’t lose all of my LB

I want to extend the underperforming Branton, he’s cheap, and 48/48 is solid. I can replace him, or not, as needed. He’s just 27, and I can’t feasibly replace that many LBs next year, and I signed a WLB to push him this year. I think part of his underperformance may be due to the position he plays, WLB is not a feature place for my roster. But if we have the lack of bodies, cash, or options next year, we can retain him. And it frees my cash up. SLB Turner wants too much money to resign.

I’m good letting go CB Jacob Tudor and SE Donnie Crawford and such.

Our Top Ten Contracts/Cap Hits This Year:

1. QB Blake Bortles,19.69 mill
2. DE Cesar Velazquez, 15.34 mill
3. WR Joshua Wild, 15.23
4. LG Marquis Satre, 10.35
5. WR Marqise Lee, 9.95
6. DT Quentin Grossman, 8.9
7. CB Shane Hopkins, 8.4
8. C Roger Pearson, 6.7
9. SLB Courtney Upshaw, 5.4
10. MLB Irving Ward, 4.1

And then the next are 3.9 for DE Willis, 2.5 for DE Webster and such.

When you have a good QB, you have to sacrifice your cap. And next year, I want to add OT Starks to that list.

I have let a lot of quality draftees, or other players, go recently, DE Butler, OG Theophilatos, WR Robinson, OT Goldhammer, CB Meadows, etc. But we have to keep churning that roster. The NFL is about replacement, not sustainment.

We leave with a few injuries. TE Page and SLB Upshaw are out, and multiple probables