I like just about everything you posted Dam. Couple of comments to add to the discussion:
- Hunter might not be available as I would think Minny will do all they can to re-sign him. They don't have a ton of cap space, but they do have some at ~$26M. Per OTC Hunter will count ~$15M in dead cap space when his contract voids in March, which is included in the Vikes' current cap number. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that goes away if he signs an extension before his contract voids (I'm sure Ironshaft can clarify). So this gives them extra incentive to get a deal done before FA begins. On a side note Kirk Cousins is a similar situation only he's ~$28.5M in dead cap space.
- Latu has a scary medical history. Not saying that this should exclude us from drafting him; just something that could factor into the decision. I'm sure it'll be a big talking point in the lead up to the draft.
- If we can sign Lewis to a similar deal to his '23 contract ($2.6M cap hit) then I'd like to see him re-signed. If he can get more elsewhere then agree that it's best to let him go.
- As far as I can tell Ironshaft didn't include the draft class in his base cap number, so under your plan you'd have to make a little bit of room for the draft class. Only ~$1M based on '23 cap hits for the draft slots where we're picking and that our bottom end guys are at $900K cap hits.
- This would put us right up against the cap, which we all know Ballard isn't going to be comfortable doing
