Another way to approach the cap

So if I am correct in my thinking, per new CBA rules all teams are required to spend AT LEAST 90% of the cap. With a cap of 120million, that means we HAVE to spend 108million.

Currently we are sitting at 26million under the cap so we are at 94million in player salary. I think it is safe to say that while there are SOME quality free agents out there, we don't want to overpay for a player that is merely average or above average.

By league rules we have to spend another 12 million to count towards this cap. We absolutely have to fill the roster I totally agree however, what if we used to some of our open cap space to lock up some other guys long term and count them towards this cap. This way we don't run into cap hell down the road much like the Steelers are in right now or what we went through during the final years of McNair, Rolle, and Mason.

I am not an expert in this and I just thought it might be a different way to approach it. Instead of spending top dollar are guys we know nothing about, lock up some guys with expiring contracts in the next year so it doesn't turn into a bidding war.

Thoughts?

 

Maybe someone who understands the cap more can chime in. I am no cap expert whatsoever