I remember in the Bills Superbowl era, they would try and keep key players. But they couldn't because the market cost was too much. They lost Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and others because they just didn't have the salary cap.
We will see a repeat of this conundrum this off-season. Except it will be worse with a decreasing salary cap.
The only way out of the hole is judicious signing of free agents and very smart drafting.