Here's a little bit of an outside-the-box thought: what about trading Braden Smith at this point? Would he be worth the same or more than Brown?
The good: I don't think his value has ever been higher, and the seed has been planted that he might be able/is open to moving to LT. He's also a year out from a very large contract, and while I think we'd keep him, I'm not sure and Ballard can be pretty ruthless in his cap management. This would of course help alleviate a future cap logjam, and if we are uncertain we will keep him past 2021 then this would ensure we would at least get something in return.
The bad: I realize that this weakens an already weakened OL, and I know most OL coaches highly value continuity in this area. Not sure we have anyone on the roster right now who could fill in adequately, so the plan would have to be to draft his replacement this offseason. If a little development time is needed we would need to pick up a serviceable vet replacement on a one-year contract.
Anyway, I realize it's not ideal, but the earlier post got me thinking about how we are going to be able manage all these players under the cap in the coming years, and what kind of hard decisions will need to be made (and when it is best to make them).
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