Biggest NFL free agent busts of all time

Don't be surprised to see Prime Time start the list. Deion Sanders, arguably the greatest cornerback in NFL history, was past his prime (pun intended) when the Washington Redskins awarded him a seven-year, $55 million contract that included an $8 million signing bonus, per the Washington Post/Reuters , ahead of his 33rd birthday. Sanders spent a single season with the Redskins before retiring, but he ultimately returned to feature for the Baltimore Ravens during the 2004 and 2005 campaigns. He now works for NFL Network. 

If you ever feel the need to be down on some of your past choices and decisions, realize that quarterback Sam Bradford earned over $130 million off NFL contracts, according to Spotrac, and then check his statistics and remember life is often unfair. Probably the last major NFL contract Bradford will sign was awarded to him by the Arizona Cardinals in March 2018, a deal that included $15 million in guaranteed money, as explained by Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When the transaction was announced, outside observers already realized the then-30-year-old was damaged goods. Arizona soon learned that the hard way. Bradford started a total of three contests before he was yanked in favor of rookie Josh Rosen with under four minutes remaining in the team's Week 3 contest versus the Chicago Bears. That was the last we saw of Bradford as an active player. He was released in November. 

We can at least give the Seattle Seahawks credit for knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em back in 2012. That March, the Seahawks signed quarterback Matt Flynn to a three-year deal that could have been worth up to $26 million, as explained by Mike Triplett of ESPN, but Seattle somewhat surprisingly elected to name rookie Russell Wilson the team's starting signal-caller ahead of the regular season. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Wilson became a Super Bowl champion, and Flynn never started a game during his single season with the franchise. 

Mike Glennon wasn't exactly Matt Flynn 2.0, but the comparisons can't be ignored. After failing to cement himself as a starter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over four seasons and, ultimately, becoming surplus to requirements after the club drafted Jameis Winston, the Chicago Bears signed Glennon to a three-year contract in March 2017 that paid him $18.5 million in guaranteed money, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Per SB Nation's Christian D'Andrea, the deal could've been worth up to $45 million. Glennon went 1-3 as a starter for the Bears before losing his spot on the depth chart to then-rookie Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears released Glennon the following March. 

Wide receiver David Boston enjoyed a couple of stellar seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before a knee injury prematurely ended his 2002 campaign. That injury, not to mention questions about his size pointed out by ESPN's Tom Friend, didn't prevent Boston from earning a seven-year contract potentially worth $47 million, per ESPN's John Clayton , in March 2003. While Boston caught 70 passes and tallied seven touchdowns that season, the Chargers traded him to the Miami Dolphins in March 2004 after he allegedly became a locker-room cancer. A suspension related to the use of performance-enhancing drugs and an injury sidelined him that entire year. He last played in the league in 2005. 

During the 2012 campaign, safety LaRon Landry matched a career-best with two interceptions, not to mention career highs in total tackles (100) and forced fumbles (four) with the New York Jets, and the Indianapolis Colts snagged him via a four-year deal that paid him $14 million in guaranteed money, per NFL.com writer Dan Hanzus. Landry tallied zero picks over 12 games his first year with the Colts, and he missed four contests the subsequent season due to a PED suspension. He never played in the league again, as a pair of additional violations of the league's PED policy earned him an indefinite ban. 

Fans of the Cleveland Browns may want to sit the next several portions of the piece out. Wide receiver Andre Rison was only more bad than "Bad Moon" during his single season with the Browns after signing a five-year, $17 million contract with the club ahead of the 1995 season, as explained by Bud Shaw of Cleveland.com. Owner Art Modell had to take out a loan to sign Rison, which understandably didn't sit well with Cleveland supporters after Modell announced he was moving the franchise to Baltimore. Rison didn't endear himself to those customers when he exclaimed, "Baltimore, here we come," after hearing boos from members of the Browns faithful at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

Jeff Garcia was a three-time Pro Bowl quarterback when a rough 2003 season ended his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers. Neither his lackluster previous campaign nor a DUI arrest scared the Cleveland Browns off, though, as the club signed him to a four-year, $25 million contract, per ESPN/Associated Press. Garcia won only three of 10 starts, and he matched 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions as the Browns limped to a 4-12 record. The two parted ways in early 2005. 

Some younger and/or current fans of the Cleveland Browns may view wide receiver Dwayne Bowe as the team's worst-ever free agency signing. Bowe put pen to paper on a contract that guaranteed him $9 million, as explained by Will Brinson of CBS Sports, in March 2015, and the veteran wideout caught five passes over seven games. Brinson broke the numbers down: "So (Bowe) was paid $1.29 million per game he played, $1.8 million per catch, $690,000 per target and more than $169,000 per yard receiving this season." Bowe will unquestionably go down as one of the least popular members of the "new Browns," the version of the franchise that returned to the NFL in 1999. 

In the grand scheme of things, the Cleveland Browns guaranteeing quarterback Robert Griffin III $6.75 million, per USA Today's Tom Pelissero, after the Washington Redskins gave up on him in March 2016 would've been reasonable had the plan been to stash RG3 behind a first-round pick, which is exactly how the Baltimore Ravens handled him in 2018. Instead, then-head coach Hue Jackson named Griffin his starter before the 2016 preseason, but the signal-caller suffered a shoulder injury during the team's regular-season debut. In all, RG3 lost four of five starts, but at least he earned over $1 million per appearance with the club. 

Many internet searches including the terms "Adam Archuleta" and "Redskins" lead you to results regarding what an awful deal this was for Washington. As Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk wrote, the Redskins made Archuleta the highest-paid safety in NFL history, as of March 2006, when the franchise gave him a six-year, $30 million contract. Archuleta started seven games for the Redskins that season before he was dropped down the depth chart, and the team traded him to the Chicago Bears the following March. 

Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was named to three consecutive Pro Bowl squads and was a two-time First-Team All-Pro as a member of the Oakland Raiders, so many within the football community didn't blink when the Philadelphia Eagles gave him a five-year, $60 million contract, per ESPN, in the summer of 2011. Plenty blinked soon thereafter. Asomugha was in the twilight of his prime before the ink on the deal dried, and the four interceptions he tallied over two seasons didn't fool anybody into believing he was worth a fraction of the money Philadelphia paid him. Along with visibly taking plays off in the secondary, he reportedly sometimes ate lunch in his car away from teammates. The Eagles released him following the 2012 campaign after he refused to restructure his contract. 

Other than the famous "idiot kicker" line once fired off by Peyton Manning, the lowest point of Mike Vanderjagt's career was probably his brief stay with the Dallas Cowboys. In March 2006, the Cowboys gave the veteran placekicker a three-year contract that included a $2.5 million signing bonus and that could have been worth $6 million, per ESPN's Len Pasquarelli. That's a lot of money for any kicker, let alone for one who missed five of 18 field goal attempts before being cut after 10 appearances. 

See? The New England Patriots do make mistakes every now and again. In March 2012, the Pats signed defensive end Jonathan Fanene to a three-year contract that included a $3.5 million signing bonus, according to Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News, but the team released him ahead of the regular season amid injury worries. "Just didn't work out," coach Bill Belichick told reporters after the Pats released Fanene, per Brian McIntyre of NFL.com. Succinctly put, coach. 

Back in May 2017, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette referred to tight end Ladarius Green as the "worst signing ever in free agency" made by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In March 2016, Pittsburgh gave Green a four-year contract that included a signing bonus of $4.75 million and that could have been worth $20 million, but he was never the same guy he was during his best days with the San Diego Chargers coming off an ankle operation he underwent in January of that year. In all, Green started twice and appeared in six contests for the Steelers, and he tallied 18 receptions and a touchdown before he was released in May 2017. 

Defensive end Chuck Smith spent every year from 1992 through 1999 with the Atlanta Falcons, and he was coming off a 10-sack campaign when the Carolina Panthers signed him to a five-year, $21 million contract that promised him a $4.5 million signing bonus, per CBS News. He appeared in only two games for the Panthers before his knee betrayed him, and he notched a single tackle and zero sacks with the franchise. That $4.5 million for one tackle is good cash if you can get it. 

Ahman Green was a stud running back who rushed for over 1,000 yards during six of seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2000 to 2006. In March 2007, the Houston Texans brought him south on a four-year, $23 million deal that included over $6 million in guaranteed cash, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. In 14 games over two seasons, Green gained a paltry 554 yards and scored five touchdowns before the club released him in February 2009. 

Wide receiver Javon Walker had already been slowed by injuries when the Denver Broncos released him in February 2008 after that team couldn't find a trade partner interested in acquiring his services. The following month, the Oakland Raiders shocked many by giving Walker $16 million in guaranteed money and a six-year, $55 million contract, per ESPN.com. Over the next two seasons, Walker caught 15 passes and found the end zone once in 11 games. In total, he earned $21 million from the franchise. 

Two things that may immediately come to mind upon hearing or reading the name Fred Smoot are "bad contract" and "Love Boat." Smoot showed flashes of being a shutdown cornerback from 2001 through 2004 with the Washinton Redskins, and the Minnesota Vikings signed him to a six-year, $34 million deal with a $10.5 million bonus attached, as explained by Ryan O'Halloran of the Daily Press, in March 2005. If Smoot underperforming while tallying only three interceptions in two seasons with the Vikings didn't make this contract bad enough, he also embarrassed the franchise with the "Love Boat" scandal you'll have to Google on your own because we like to keep things SFW in these parts. 

Ed Reed was a legendary safety, during his time, and a player absolutely worthy of a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He's also responsible for one of the worst contracts ever signed by the Houston Texans. In March 2013, Reed agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal that included $6 million in guaranteed money, as Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun wrote, but his relationship with the team was nothing short of a disaster. He began the season late due to an injury, and he started in only five games before being dropped down the depth chart. He posted zero interceptions, zero passes defended and only 16 tackles in those contests. The Texans released him in the middle of November. 

The New York Jets have been NFL punchlines seemingly since the day before forever, but one couldn't blame the historically QB-hungry club for acquiring a Super Bowl signal-caller after the 1995 season. Unfortunately for the Jets, midnight struck for Neil O'Donnell and Gang Green not long after he signed a five-year, $25 million contract, a massive deal for the time. O'Donnell won eight of 20 starts over two seasons, and he completed only 56.9 percent of his passes while matching 21 touchdowns with 14 picks. New York cut him in 1998. 

On the field, the grass wasn't (Philadelphia Eagles) greener for running back DeMarco Murray after the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year and rushing champion left the Dallas Cowboys for the City of Brotherly Love in 2015. Plenty of non-Philly green was involved, though, as Murray signed what ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen  reported to be a five-year deal that guaranteed him $21 million and could have earned the ball-carrier up to $42 million. Murray was never a great fit playing under head coach Chip Kelly, as he gained 702 yards and scored only seven touchdowns in 15 appearances. Philadelphia traded him to the Tennessee Titans the following March. 

It was no secret injuries, not to mention surgery on his left knee, had slowed wide receiver Antonio Bryant ahead of March 2010, when the Cincinnati Bengals signed him to a $28 million deal that included slightly under $8 million in guaranteed cash, per ESPN's James Walker. Cincinnati busted on this gamble, as Bryant wasn't able to go in the preseason because of his knee before the Bengals cut him in late August. 

Years from now, our children and grandchildren won't believe Brock Osweiler received $37 million guaranteed and a four-year, $72 million contract from the Houston Texans in March 2016 after he posted decent, but not great, numbers while filling in for an injured Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos the prior season. Osweiler performed so poorly in 2016, the Texans traded him and a pick to the Cleveland Browns just to dump his salary. Not only did Osweiler get paid. He returned to Denver for the 2017 campaign a Super Bowl champion. Nobody can take that ring or his cash away from him. 

It's difficult to imagine anybody will ever replace Albert Haynesworth as the patron saint of NFL free agent busts. Despite red flags hovering over his reputation in February 2009, the Washington Redskins nevertheless signed the defensive tackle to what ESPN's John Clayton reported to be a seven-year, $100 million contract that included a league-record $41 million in guaranteed cash. Haynesworth played in 20 games over two seasons for the Redskins, and he became more known for lacking proper physical conditioning and for being labeled as a historic free agency bust than for anything positive he achieved while with the franchise. The Redskins happily traded him to the New England Patriots in the summer of 2011. As of the 2019 offseason, Haynesworth's contract remains the worst in NFL history.