Some further free agency thoughts

What's going on in Arizona? The Bucs keep making moves; Marcus Williams to Baltimore!

How does a team ‘win’ free agency? There are some core tenets that teams should follow: Don’t get caught up in divisional rivals; fill as many roster holes as possible (for value) before the draft. But there is one crucial principle that all teams must follow: Fall in love with a player profile, not a player.

The goal of free agency is to add 24 karat players for the price 24 carrots. It’s about bargain hunting, about finding players who bring value rather than just talent. Anyone can ID the top 20 or so free agents. Sifting through the rubble, finding the veteran with a couple of years left in the tank or the young pup who was drafted into the wrong system or a lousy culture is where teams can rack up wins on the margins.

That’s why a team putting limits on themselves is important. The Patriots, for instance, craft a cheat sheet. How much do we value our down safety? What about our 10 snaps a game interior rusher? Now, let’s put a value on our premier edge-rusher.

The goal is to dream u…