I'm very pleased by this. In recent days I was envisioning a bunch of little guys being shoved out of the way. We couldn't afford to lose our physical identity as one of the more rugged teams on the defensive front. That's very difficult to recapture. With narrow frames like Wake, Jordan and Wheeler we're already vulnerable.
This should allow us to pair Starks with an upfield penetrating guy like Mitchell. Not exactly the Soliai/Aaron Donald duo that I fantasized about, but decent. At least it makes sense.
Still, I would have far preferred Soliai above Starks. The two are not comparable, certainly separated by more than 1 million per year. It doesn't matter who looks better in a given game or season. Soliai's frame simply causes more problems for opponents and allows us more flexibility. I'm glad we signed Starks to only 2 years because a guy of more standard size figures to lose his effectiveness sooner than a mountain like Soliai.
BTW, I have one friend from Las Vegas who is a Texans fan. I sent him an email inquiring about Mitchell. I remember Mitchell from that draft a few years ago but hadn't followed him closely as a pro. My friend replied today that Mitchell has the reputation of a perennial tease. He dominates camp and preseason games every year, leading to big expectations. Then he all but disappears in the regular season, other than a handful of relatively meaningless disruptive plays in games that either are already decided or not particularly significant. My friend said that Texans fans consequently hadn't given up on Mitchell due to his age and athletic ability but he was no longer a priority. He was somewhat surprised that Mitchell was rated so highly as a free agent and managed that contract.