Our oline is  ranked top 15,  I think 11th last time I checked. Next year we have 5 OL signed to contracts. Long, Leno, Whitehair, Daniels and Sowell

On the roster this year are: those 5 plus

Kush

Coward

Massie

Witzmann

PS: Dejon Allen and Willie Beavers

I think Long will be back but the multi injuries with cause concern for his future.

I think we resign Witzmann and Coward and Coward becomes our RT going forward.( they have kept him on the roster all year even though he has not played)

I think W. Beavers gets promoted to the roster and is looked as a swing tackle going forward.( he was ranked as a 4th round pick in his draft)

Witzmann stays as a reserve and they let Kush go. 

I think in the 3rd or 4th round we draft a OL to bring in to support our Oline going forward. 

 

Next year:  Leno, Daniels,Whitehair, Long, Coward----reserves Sowell, Witzmann, Beavers, rookie.

Longs health is the big question mark here.

Macks money kicks in so they have to have some cheap starters so it opens the door for Coward.

Also Dejon Allen is keep around and could possible make the roster going forward.

 

 

It's going to be very interesting what they do with Coward and I agree he'll be a future starter at RT.   Is that next year?   I'm glad we have Hiestand helping to make that decision.   In an ideal situation we get to the last week or two and have meaningless games where we can let Coward get some snaps.  

Long is on the books for 3 more years but with just a $1.5mil guarantee in 2019 and again in 2020.  i'd like to see if we could lower Long's cap hit to maybe $5mil/yr in exchange for giving him some more guaranteed money.  With his injury history he's not likely to get much in FA if we cut him.  He'd likely take a chance on a 1yr deal somewhere hoping to cash in afterwards.  With the Bears a team on the rise there could be a middle ground for Pace and Long to agree on.  

The only reason I think Coward gets the chance next year is us keeping him on the roster this whole year. I think this speeds his progress up and the cheap price will fit our budget. If we resign Massie or bring in another FA it will be 6 times more money that Coward will get. 

19 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

The only reason I think Coward gets the chance next year is us keeping him on the roster this whole year. I think this speeds his progress up and the cheap price will fit our budget. If we resign Massie or bring in another FA it will be 6 times more money that Coward will get. 

Coward is a ERFA.  Of course we can easily keep him around next year but if he's seriously viewed as the future starter at RT then IMO Pace would be wise to give him a decent low-level deal, perhaps $3mil/yr for 3 years with some guarantee.  Otherwise if Coward plays great next year then in 2020 we'll be paying him $8-10mil.  The team takes a risk on him while Coward gets something good now and will still be young enough (28yr old) to really cash in 3 years later. 

https://overthecap.com/player/rashaad-coward/6177/