It's hard to say that Pashos or Stinchcomb isn't the answer to the question "Who the hell is going to be playing tackle for the Arizona Cardinals next season?"
Saying that you'd rather draft somebody doesn't make any sense. Just because you sign someone in FA doesn't mean you can't draft someone else if they're there. It just means that you're not then forced to take someone too high because you came out of free agency without even a body.
"Just a body" for someone else's team is better than anything we have now, which is "nobody at all." Regardless of the price.
I see your point. My only point is that I don't necessarily blame the Cardinals for not wanting to rush into the market for such mediocre players.
Call it cheap, call it a defense of Graves, whatever. I just can't rationally criticize them for not wanting to pay Jon Stinchcomb or Tony "Am I even a starter?" Pashos $20 million in guaranteed money.
You use free agency when free agency offers you options to improve your team. If all we're getting is "someone" to play the position, then yes, you might as well just rely on the draft or bring in some low-priced stopgaps until someone worth the money hits the market next season.
If Stinchcomb is the "best" option out there, sign an old guy with very little left (a Brad Hopkins type) to plug the hole for a year. Hope the market improves next year. That may seem lame, but it's better than being on the hook for boatloads of cash to guys who aren't good (see Ross, Oliver - three years left on that winner's contract).