Quote:There were 4 potential long term RT starters in FA, and one good stop gap.

 

Bulaga was never ever ever leaving GB. He really wanted to be there, he was their #1 priority, and they had well over 30 mil in cap space. Any fan from any team with Bulaga on their wish list was dreaming. Newton and Free resigned before the legal tampering window started.

 

That left Parnell and Barksdale as the only real viable options. I know a lot of people don't care about PFF and they aren't perfect, but truth is they give the closest looks (2 trained employees looking at every single play for every player every game) and do it in the most unbiased way to me so it's the most fair comparison IMO. Well, PFF grades have Parnell with a superb +8.7 in 388 snaps (Bulaga had +11.9 in nearly triple the snaps). Barksdale had a -5.9 in 1031 snaps, and he has had very litlte buzz whereas Parnell had at least 4 known strong suitors.

 

I think we clearly got the best and most desired FA RT for this year, and yeah we did pay up for it.