Before we discard Kelly and Smith, consider…

[ChaosTheory]

Originally Posted by ukcolt

I am not sure what some of you were watching last year. Braden Smith had a knee injury that he was battling through and was still playing fairly decent football...

I was about to comment the same. There is a real question about whether it's optimal to bring him back due to multiple factors. But saying he was playing bad... there's a disconnect for me.

Raimann-Nelson-Kelly-Fries-Smith was a top-3 (arguably top-1) line.

Originally Posted by Dam8610

I'm not a huge fan of PFF grades, but just by watching, Matt Goncalves was not a noticeable dropoff from Braden Smith, so why pay Smith $20 mil when Goncalves can provide similar play for 3rd round rookie money? I'll put it this way: I'd rather have Jevon Holland and Goncalves starting at RT than Braden Smith.

Agreed. That's some of the nuance. I don't think Goncalves was better than Smith last year, and honestly, probably won't be as good as Smith next year. And it would be a feat if he is able to match Smith's peak at some point.

But is it a 90% difference in play like it is in salary? No. And Goncalvez has plenty of upside.