I wouldn't have paid Gallup so much to stay. Honestly this team still doesn't get it with resigning players. You resign great players to large contracts not good players. Gallup is a good player, not great. Amari was a very good player, not great. Shultz is a good player, not great. I really hope they don't sign him to a long term deal. I would've had no problem letting them 2 walk. Shultz could be replaced with the pick we just made or McKeon. Tolbert is very comparable to Gallup and Cooper. Receivers are a dime a dozen as are tight ends. Now you get your hands or could get your hands on a TO or Moss or Gronk, or a game changer thats one thing but for the most part they could all be easily replaced. Besides Randy Moss the QB makes the receiver.
I disagree. losing cooper was big loss to dallas. you can't compare salaries to 10 years ago. WRs are not above 20M and into 25M range....so How much do you expect to pay a good player? minimum salary? so Gallup, a good player not great according to you, got paid around 12M a year....that's not bad for a second tier player (first tier is the elite, great type)....you can't win championships with Washington and Semi Fehoko's of the NFL....
Schultz is also in that second tier. the elite/greats are getting paid in the 15M+ range....he is less than 11. and sorry, McKeon at this point can't replace anyone. he hasn't shown he has any potential to be able to repalce an 80+ catch TE. I am not saying Schultz is great, not comparing him to Kelce, Andrews, etc. but Mckeon!!! seriously.
and don't forget some of these contracts are forward looking, as salaries are about to explode in the NFL, since expectations are that in 2023, 2024 the cap will go up by 25%...
at some point you have to pay and sometimes you have to slightly over pay because of the way the market worked out (3 other TEs got tagged, and not much was left over and thus Schultz got tagged too) and the alternatives. you are not going to win in the NFL with just average players........you are not going to win by being at the salary floor.