Quote Originally Posted by bobblehead View Post
Tom can not be kept on the bench. His is unquestionably one of the top 5 (3). For my money I try to get a 2nd for Bak and start Yosh at LT, Tom at RT. Its a downgrade, but if Yosh doesn't take that final step you have draft capital to get your LT of the future instead of desperately trying to rework Bak's deal in the offseason. You also get younger either way.

I also don't want to piss off a young guy who has earned a starting spot. Not unless you have had some real serious conversations with him and you are positive he sees the big picture.
I think Tom should be starting too, and at tackle not guard. Maybe he's a C, but I thought he was decent as a rookie at OT and think he's a long term player there.
As for Bak and Njiman, I wouldn't be shocked at all if Bak gets traded and Njiman signs elsewhere in the offseason, and Gute drafts an OT to compete with the players on the roster. They have 3 depth OTs competing in Caleb Jones, Rasheed Walker and Luke Tenuta. One of those 3 could emerge as the new Njiman, and they would have more cost/contract control with them than Njiman (plus Njiman leaving likely nets them a good comp pick). Next year's draft looks potentially deeper than this year's, which was top heavy and not deep at all. Fashanu, Alt, Lathan, Barton all are being talked about as R1 picks.

Bahktiari is still a good OT and they aren't easy to find. IDK if extending him is a good idea given his knee and the money he'll likely want. Njiman is a slightly above average starter at OT, they might be able to do better there. I think the team likes him as the backup swing tackle but he's going to get starter money elsewhere. I know they like the young guys at the back of the roster, if one emerges during camp I could see them making a move. Bahktiari is likely here at least until the trade deadline.