What are the odds that Houston would restructure and could make the transition to a rushing DE ala Neil Smith?

If Houston wouldn't restructure, where could he go to make the money he would want and still be able to realistically compete for a ring?

Offense went into a shell in the second half bc Andy was playing not to lose.

I agree he is a way better fit than Ford. However, I do think he restructures, because it nets him the most money. Well, not restructuring, but extending, and converting salary to bonus.

Also, keep in mind that you aren't paying Houston $21M by keeping him. You're on the hook for $7M no matter what. The amount you are looking at saving vs spending is $14M. That's all you can save. Do you think there is another player on the free market you can get who will only cost $14M this year and has Houston's ability?

Probably not.

But devils advocate, with that money I could potentially get 2 or 3 players and make up that value that way.

You could also tag and trade Ford, let his injury history be someone else's problem, retain Houston, AND get a couple of extra draft picks.

Restructure Houston and go ahead and get those 2 or 3 FA's you wanted.

Getting rid of Ford could realistically net you 4-5 new faces next year. Getting rid of Houston just a couple.

Certainly you can. At least if you're talking cap hit. You can sign anyone and keep the first year cap low by making it up in a signing bonus. And since you specifically said, this year, that makes it doable. You could pay someone a $1 million base salary, $20 million signing bonus on a 4 year deal and only have a $6 million cap hit this year, but the player is getting $21 million.

Pretty much.

I'm guessing they think or see Ford as a better player and are ready to move on from Houston and if that's the case, well, I guess it is what it is.

It's just discouraging, especially after what just happened with Berry. Makes one wonder if they really know what they're doing on that side of the ball.

Indy could afford him

And quite frankly, they're going to have to replace Ford either this year or next. They can't give him a long-term contract after tagging him, that would be monumentally stupid.

If Ford is indispensable and can't be replaced now, nothing is going to change next year either. What confidence should we have that they can actually build a Super Bowl defense?

I think Ford IS currently a better player than Houston. I think Houston is more well rounded but at this point, he's probably not elite at any one thing.

If you tag Ford, you pretty much have to draft someone fairly early to replace him next year.

The thing is, you could get probably 2 guys for Houston. Can you replace him with that? It's probably 50/50.

If you could get 4 guys for Ford and not be able to replace him? They'r done, there's no hope. If they can't get one 10-sack guy in 4 spots, their clueless.

Check! Thanks. That could be a problem, potentially.