We wouldn't have been able to sign him. He would have been tagged (might still be). We don't know if he was a rental yet, and if he was, we'll get a 3rd round comp. The wins he caused were meaningless because of draft picks? Come on you're smarter than that.
You also don't know where we were going, we were a missed field goal OR lock not being trash for one drive away from playing the bucs, and then playing a lions team we'd already beaten in Detroit.
That being said I wouldn't have made the trade, but I understand why they did, and I don't think it was a bad one, but not a good one either. C/C+
Value was fair 2/5 for leonard and 3(comp) or tag rights.... He's a monster and idl like that don't grow on trees,i think whether it was a good/bad/whatever trade is much more debatable than if we over/underpaid for him.