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You can think that all you want, but the Saints don't get the benefit of operating with 20/20 hindsight. Moves have to be made with both present and future years in mind. Myopic is the very definition of the team building strategy you are proposing in this, in that it is a very near-sighted approach that doesn't account for long term strategies and trivializes the very real difficulties of balancing contract negotiation tactics with time constraints, an ever shrinking pool of players, and 31 other teams.A TE at the end of last season would have made the Saints unstoppable. I know how the board feels about Graham, but if he were here last year, I think it makes the difference and we came up a couple million short and having that happen. Now here we are in an identical position with DE with Okafor gone. I hope, PRAY, we didn't sacrifice the chance to have the pass rusher we needed over $1 or 2 million because the compensation was obviously within reach. I hope the Saints dont squabble over a couple million for Ansah either. The Saints KNOW what we need but get very myopic when it comes to the little acquisition details later on. Then we're sitting there going, "man a TE target would really help this team right now. D'oh!" This year, dont let that be DE.
They do KNOW what the teams needs. With The hole created with Okafor leaving, they have the chance to go and get it just what the team needs. Let's hope they follow through. Nothing worst than watching the team pursue the exact remedy to the problem at hand then back out over a negligible cost.
The Saints didn't sign Graham because in order to compete for a championship in this league, every move made needs to be done with the goal of maximizing value. Graham's contract and stats last year were in no way indicative of maximized value. He was given a back loaded deal amounting to 3 years, 30 mil. Even without accounting for the future detriments that back loaded contract presents, had the Saints matched that exact contract, Graham's contract would have accounted for a cap hit of $4 mil more than Watson last season. Now, you may think that is fair, but the irony here is that very same $4 mil you'd have happily paid last season to "upgrade" Watson's spot also happens to be the difference between guys like Okafor or Demario Davis being on that 2018 roster.
It was very unfortunate that an ill-timed appendix illness and concussion depleted the Saints TE unit before it got a real shot to show it's value in the playoffs, but that same misfortune is why winning teams must "squabble" over $1-2 mil with every contract. Unfortunate roster developments are only exacerbated further when your team didn't have the foresight to value roster depth or the opportunities awaiting next season.