The run defense was so anomalously good at the start of the season that it helped compensate for the pass defense, but it was always bound to regress.

The pass rush is harder to figure out because it’s not clear if they were overperforming to start the season or if they’re underperforming now.

Their O line didn’t look like the best in the league. We would struggle to stop Hurts scrambling though.

Goff, Sun-God, Alim, Glasgow, Jonah Jackson, Josh Reynolds, Barnes, Jerry Jacobs, CJGJ, Houston, Cominsky. Which of them are you okay with letting walk?

These are all guys who are currently or likely could be major contributors for us, but whose contracts are up in the next 2 seasons and whose current performance means they are significantly underpaid. Obviously, we’ve got some overpaid guys on the roster still (eg Romeo) but letting them go or resigning them for cheap will not give us the cap space to give all our core guys their raises AND pay the studs we would have spent our draft capital on.

I’m completely fine with keeping the guys we know are culture fits and who can perform well instead of showing them the door in favor of someone with more name recognition.

Of course we’re not likely to, for example, land a Chase Young-level player with a 3rd round pick, but the value of draft picks isn’t just getting talent on your roster, it’s getting talent that is underpaid compared to their veteran peers. You can’t be a contender without guys on rookie deals making peanuts so you can pay your vet stars. That’s why we need to keep draft picks.

People aren’t realizing that the draft capital isn’t the biggest issue here, it’s the cap commitment to keep him long-term and make the trade worth it.

About 1/3 of our star core are going to need raises in the next year. We can’t pay another star without letting one of our guys go.

I hope they have the express, written consent of the NFL.