No, if you re-read what I wrote it's that he's put himself into that box of rarely using FA. It's a three-legged stool: 1) Draft 2) Free Agency 3) Player Retention. Those are your only three tools as a GM. He mostly stayed away from FA so you are only left with the other two tools. You characterized that as settling for mediocrity. While most here agree, including myself, that more use of FA could lead to better results - that's not how TT is doing it. He's not settling, he's just not using all of his tools, for reasons that should/could be debated on a separate thread.
All of this is to say that re-signing Raji for a short deal is one of his few remaining options if he doesn't like any of his choices in the FA market and will continue to look for better players in the draft. He could of course force Capers to start the rookie that he takes this season, but I doubt that's a position any of us would advocate.
There's actually a 4th (trades) which is rarely used, outside of shuffling draft picks.
That aside, I guess I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. You agree that the use of more FA could lead to better results and TT is not using them. To me, that IS settling for what you have. You've got only one avenue for external improvement then, that's the draft. And to be frank, while I prefer the draft myself, it's usually not an instant gratification process. Sure you get lucky from time to time with Clay Matthews or Eddie Lacy, but most of the time it doesn't work out that way.
We are not going to improve our team enough in one off-season to be Super Bowl contenders next year if we don't utilize free agency, barring a bizarre set of almost perfect circumstances (Perry and Datone take huge leaps, Hyde, Hayward, House emerge, Burnett returns to form, we stay healthy, etc. etc). That's my point.. I know what TT's approach is. I'm saying for this offseason in particular, it's not a sufficient one. Some positions are quite deep in free agency this year and there will be bargains to be had.
As far as your last sentence, I would not have a problem with Boyd receiving more opportunities this season, although I know you were referring to a knew draft pick. I can live with the fact that we are hoping to strike it rich on Raji in 2014 banking on the fact that 1) he will benefit from a move back to NT, and 2), he has a lot more talent than he showed. Frankly, he's' probably the kind of guy we WOULD go after in free agency.
I'm just wary because Raji was THAT bad last year. If you have the option, go back and just watch a few plays. He was rarely, rarely doubled. He couldn't shed a block to save his life. He was a complete non-factor almost the entire season. It's hard for me to believe that changing positions is going to magically fix all that.
I'm hoping his own effort WILL lead to fixing it -- but it will definitely stunt my optimism going into next season if our biggest signing outside of the draft is for an underperforming and underwhelming piece of our own existing defense.