Key players up for free agency after this year to consider extensions for (excluding guys who signed 1 year deals this year because nothing would have changed with them since signing):
EDGE Matthew Judon - I would NOT try to extend right now. He's going to want top of the market money but he's going to be 32 and coming off injury.
C David Andrews - Extension probably not in play. He's old and might retire.
S Jabrill Peppers - As a player he's clearly worthy of an extension. It's just a question of if they want to invest in him after keeping Dugger. We have so much cap space that maybe worth it to just spend it, but not sure it's the best allocation of resources.
DL Deatrich Wise - As a team captain/leader and solid player at a position where you're always going to rotate a bunch of guys, maybe worth exploring an extension if he's take the security over pushing for more money. Has to be cheap though to be worth it.
DL Davon Godchaux - Same as Wise above really besides the captain piece. Solid rotational player at a position where you'd love to have tons of depth. If he'll sign for a deal that doesn't break the bank, probably not a bad idea to extend.
CB Jonathan Jones - Another veteran leader. Inside-outside CB versatility. I don't think he's an ideal outside CB and I also think we have a potential slot option in Marcus Jones, but depth at key positions is always good. Marcus Jones will always be an injury risk too due to small size and his return role. Once again, if he'd tack another relatively cheap year or two onto his deal probably not a bad deal to consider. He is at an age where you maybe worry about decline though.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson - Depends on price. If he's willing to just lock in some money based on the history of backs struggling then go for it on an extension. If he wants real money, not worth it. We have nothing on the depth chart at RB next year besides Gibson who is a passing down specialist, so worth considering just locking in a quality back to avoid scrambling out of need next year. Price is key.
LB Jahlani Tavai - He's emerged as a solid player, but with Bentley and Takitaki signed not sure it's worth spending on another "meh" LB. Especially if they want to keep so many box safety/LB hybrids and play as much dime as they have in the past. I like the player, just not sure of the fit here longer term.
CB Alex Austin - He flashed a bit last year but is still an uncertainty. But if they really liked what they saw, maybe worth getting out in front of and
DL Daniel Ekuale - He's been a decent rotational piece at times but not a high enough level to extend. He's going to be 30 anyway. So yeah, not an extension candidate.
CB Shaun Wade, CB Marco Wilson... Backend roster candidates. No need to think about extending.
To keep the extension train moving, I'd probably try to extend Godchaux, Wise, Stevenson, and Jon Jones. I'd make a run at Alex Austin too if he'd lock himself in low on some future years. I'm torn on Peppers only because of the presence of Dugger and my belief you'll never get max value out of both of them. Hard no on Judon because of how expensive that position is. Andrews isn't an extension candidate at the end of his career. Let Tavai play out the year. No one else was seriously worth considering extending for me.
In terms of outside free agents, I'm still on board with the idea of going for Stephon Gilmore. I feel like he's got 2 solid years left in him. Let him be a vet mentor to Gonzalez and (to a lesser extent) Austin. If they signed him to a 2 year deal and did my proposed extensions for Jon Jones and Alex Austin above, then they'd have Gonzalez/Gilmore/Austin on the outside and JJones/MJones inside all locked in for the next 2 years. It's a strong enough depth chart to probably avoid needing to address it, but the contracts of Gilmore/JJones would likely be easy enough to get out of should something great present itself and you don't want to use an extra roster spot. You'd have great depth at a very key position without overly investing in it amidst the makeover we need at other positions. We still probably need a LT, #1 WR and with Judon aging eventually a foundational edge rusher even. Having to look for good CB play on top of that could be tough.
