P Rich has guys that can take his spot and step up, Richardson does not, he is not paid to make sacks, he is paid to keep guys tied up and not get to the Linebackers as well as shut down the run game. Idiots that think he is a sack artist are morons and really do not understand his true roll, occasionally he can get to the QB, that is not his first priority. Wagner is having a great year, why do you think that is? It's because he can play down hill and not be tied up with Lineman. Also the push Richardson gets helps our secondary, Naz and Jefferson and the rest of the Dline profit form teams having to use two guys on Richardson, again not what he does in the stat line but what he does to allow others to get stats.
Prich has played great, but we have guys that can run and catch, Lockett should be back to form by next season, Darboh will have a year under his belt, Moore was just promoted because they didn't want to lose him, McKissic could move to more a WR roll as well. We have the bodies there if Prich wants the dollars. Brown you have to sign, Joekel your invested in and for continuity sake may want to keep him. We are looking at a complete overhaul of the RB group minus Carson, we don't know what were going to have when he comes back, The guy that was playing before injury or a Rawls type player who has trust issues with his blocking or his own body. It may take another half or full season without further injury for him to find himself again.
Graham, we have his replacement already in McEvoy as the WR target and Vannett as more a blocking TE, Swoopes on the PS. The one year signing of Willson is the other. Sure none have Grahams history (in N.O.) but they have not had the reps Jimmy has either.
The RB group and O line is this teams biggest conundrum, Invest and keep the pieces that have proved themselves together or, Britt, Brown, Joekel, future in Pocic with strength and weight added, Fant when he comes back and Ifedi it appears. We also have Roos and Glow( Glamorous Ladies of Wrestling) as Guard back ups right now, we have seen little of Roos but Glow has not been impressive as of yet and has lost his starting job twice now I think.
At RB, we have Davis, he will be gone, we have Lacy, he will be gone, we have Rawls presently in the Dog House it seems and if we have any real competition probably will be gone if get can't stop the wheels spinning in his head long enough to get his feet moving. Prosise in the China Cabinet, I know we will keep him but he is not a durable player and is a toy we use sometimes at this point. McKissic is our most valuable RB now and we have to sign this kid to some kind of extension, should not be a costly signing, but he has shown the rest of the league he is a weapon now. So on paper we have McKissic, Rawls, Carson, and Prosise nest year to start with, three guys that have injury issues to come back from, I include Rawls in that since he was still nursing stuff and has yet to find his groove again if he ever will. and McKissic who is a third down guy and KR that has been more durable then expected.
Our D line with Avril disc surgery, our Safety with Kam now out for the season and our CB in Sherman Achilles tear are all high dollar guys as well on the tail end of a career, this is where our biggest dollar recovery will be if you throw Lacy and Graham into the mix. This is also where the hardest and most impactful cuts will be and with the exception of Lacy, also where the most hand wringing from fans will come from.
McDougald could also fall into this mix, in my mind we need to resign him and Coleman.
Lane, Maxwell, who knows, Lane was shown the door politely in a trade, Maxwell is ageing and we have Shaq and Thorpe. Also some players stashed on PS.
Hill and Thompson are in the wings at Safety as well, there will be a shale up here I am sure, which and who stays is going to be interesting.
