I only read the first page of this so far,  but here's what I have to say:

The front office has to build a big spreadsheet, showing the cost of all the players on the team, projected forward over several years, including new contracts for young stars like Ngakoue, Ramsey, a QB, and on and on.  Plus deletions of guys like Ivory, and so forth.   And they have to fit all these numbers under the projected salary cap for 2018, and 2019, and 2020, and into the future.  So it's not as easy as saying, "Oh, I like him.  We should keep him."   All these salaries have to be budgeted.   And who among us has done such a projection?  

As some point, we will have to let good young players leave, and hopefully we can get something for them and not have them just walk away for free.  

So, it's an interesting topic, but we don't have enough facts to answer the question.  Not by a long shot.

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