My favorite part of your post was your larger point.
Namely, that playoff teams that draft well and make good FA decisions must inevitably lose some good players.
It’s impossible for any team to keep everyone in this cap era.
Well, we are now officially a playoff team and this new regime seems to draft and develop players very well. I see no reason to think that both will not continue.
Therefore, we fans are gonna have to get used to losing good players each year, including some starters and fan favorites. Just the way it is.
Watkins might be the first, but he won’t be the last.