No matter how much you hate Free, there is now tons of tape showing he can play at a high level. By the end of the year, he wasn't just keeping guys off Romo but totally dominating all comes at RT. When they kicked him to the curb, he came in and shutout Jarred Allen in a pressure cooker situation on the road in the playoffs trailing by 14 points.
Free has long arms, great feet and superior athleticism - he is the ideal LT. At 315 pounds he is far from small for the position. He will be an asset on the move getting out for screens. Plus, he seems to have a bit of a nasty edge out there on the field.
Conversely, any rookie we bring in will be entirely untested against NFL level competition and we would be guessing whether they could cope with the transition. Most prospect who would be sure thing Pro Bowl-quality LTs who could start right away are drafted in the top 5 picks. We wouldn't be able to draft such a player anyway.
I think we are probably better off seeing if a great RT candidate is available at the bottom of the first. This is a good place to look for help at those positions. Maybe we can then draft another G/C in the 2nd and the line will be set for a few years.
I would try and trade Flo and Colombo if I could. I don't think either are part of the long-term solution here. I wouldn't be against bringing Flo back for another year if we can't find a good RT in FA or the draft.
