I identify that opposing view because, for every free agent that we let walk from the Saints or don’t pick up from other teams, it’s because Loomis just didn’t want to do it. He could have written any contract he wanted, but he didn’t like the price.
For instance, it has been claimed in the past that we could have signed Hendrickson to the same contract he got from the Bengals if we wanted to, I showed how that was objectively false.
And honestly, if not for Deshaun Watson, we probably keep Marcus Williams. Watson left us at the altar, and Williams was gone by the time it happened. The Jets (and even Packers) may similarly miss out on free agents while waiting to see if Aaron Rodgers will come down the aisle.
It is what it is at this point, but to me, it’s ok to say “because we have these other guys, we couldn’t sign this specific guy.”
Instead, the players that we let walk are terrible, while the players that other teams let walk were just undervalued by their former teams.