So, the drop isn't too steep.
We had Ninkovich, Sheard and Jones sharing reps.
We would have Ninkovich, Sheard and Flowers/Grissom sharing reps
Repeat out loud 3 times that the best of Flowers and Grissom is not much of a drop off from Jones this year. I'm Not buying.
The only way this might work is if Ninkovich and Sheard played 90% of the reps each. Ninkovich is just not up to this kind of war and tear anymore. The reason the DL succeeded so well is that we had 3 top DE's.
I fully agree with you, however there is always more than one way to skin a cat. We've certainly had the same discussions over the years, most recently last offseason with the losses of Revis, Browner, Dennard, and Arrington. I don't think anyone felt comfortable with the secondary after those moves, and it proved to hold up pretty well. Here's some quick thoughts off the top of my head:
1) Extend Sheard and lower his 7m dollar cap number. That would pretty much guarantee freeing up at least TEN million dollars from trading Jones and extending Sheard. As you mention, Ninkovich isn't up to the task of seeing 96% of the snaps anymore, but chances are that Belichick still sees him as a key piece, at least until his pact is up. Our starting point would be Ninkovich/Sheard. Not what we want, but it's certainly something that can be built upon.
2) Blend in Flowers/Grissom/Ninkovich/Sheard--after all, both Flowers and Grissom were top 100 picks. It's pointless to have used high round selections on them if they're never going to be given an opportunity. As we know, it's unlikely that BOTH of them work out, but I can envision a scenario where Belichick gives at least one of them an extended look to keep Ninkovich's reps at a manageable rate.
3) Use the high round draft capital gained in the trade to re-build and try and find the "next" player who can contribute. This is a Belichick favorite, as it gives us another chance of finding good value for a cheap, first-second round contract.
4) Free agency may offer another solution as it did last year.
5) Move around some pieces such as Easley, Hightower (at times) etc. Easier said than done, but still something to consider.
6) Add some additional depth/competition via mid-lower rounds/tiers of the draft + free agency.