Agreed. That opportunity cost includes lack of money to fill glaring holes in free agency.One thing not discussed much in this equation is Geno's age relative to opportunity cost. If we sign him and he regresses due to age in the next few, his trade value is then near nil, and then what do we do? Or, we let him walk, go with Lock and a rookie, and then we're [hopefully] set for the next ten years. That's the opportunity cost of signing Geno to a long-term deal, unless there's something I'm not seeing.
It may be risky to rely on Lock / cheaper veteran / rookie competition, but the current situation demands risks be taken to improve the roster/cap situation - there's no way to improve enough AND give Geno his payday at the same time.