I think this board tends to exaggerate the merits of the prospective free agents. According to one poster, Asante Samuel can "shut-down" half of the field" and sounds like the second coming of Deion Sanders.
According to the original post Mike Gandy is a solid starter who is on the way out in Buffalo. According to another post he is one of the worst starting tackles in the NFL. He must be some place in between these two two. If anything he might be a good signing at the right price. Unfortunately, quality offensive linemen, especially tackles, are paid at a premium. He will probably be overpaid if he is to hit the open market.
The fact is that the team has alot of cap space and must spend a significant portion of the cap space. Not because it is best for the team, which it is, but because it is an NFL mandate. I guess the question remains, On who should the team spend this surplus?
I do like Asante Samuels. I think that franchising Leonard Davis is the smartest thing to do. If for no other reason than giving the line continuity. IF he is franchised, this will allow the cardinals to decide what they are going to do with the offensive tackle position for one more year and not force the team into starting a rookie at Left Tackle. I think the EJ Henderson would be a good addition. I remember he was very highly touted out of Maryland when he was drafted. I would think that he could take over for Huff and probably be alot better at shedding blockers. I really like the idea of signing a guy like Eric Steinbach. I know that Leckey had a pretty decent season when he played, but if you have the opportunity to really upgrade a very important position on the offense and you have the cap space to do it, I say you go for it.
