The 25 worst moves NFL teams made in 2021

It's difficult to remember a more disastrous NFL coaching hire than Meyer. He created bad PR time after time and gave the Jaguars almost no choice but to make a change before the season ended. The Jaguars now have the first overall draft choice for the second consecutive year, while Meyer has further soiled his reputation as an all-time great football coach.

Carolina moved on from Teddy Bridgewater and apparently thought Darnold would be an improvement after three terrible seasons with the Jets. His play with the Panthers was worse than they could have ever imagined, going 4-7 in 11 starts with 13 interceptions. The team also traded second and fourth-round picks in what was effectively a lost year.

The Giants gave Golladay a huge four-year, $72 million contract to become their No. 1 wideout. After he played only four games in 2020 due to injury, Golladay had another disappointing year with only 37 catches for 521 yards in 14 games, catching fewer than 50% of his targets. The team can only hope Golladay gets on track next season.

It's tough for teams to move on from legends, and the Colts kept Hilton around a year too long. He re-signed for $8 million despite struggling last year and took another step back, with only 23 catches for 331 yards in 10 games. The 32-year-old might be at the end of the road for his career.

Selecting Etienne with the 25th overall pick in the draft was a true head-scratcher for Jacksonville considering they already had James Robinson on the roster. Etienne proceeded to suffer a season-ending foot injury in the preseason, while Robinson had another strong year. Even if Etienne returns healthy, it's difficult to see how this was a good use of a draft pick.

Despite major off-field issues, the Bucs brought in Brown last year, and he helped them win a Super Bowl. The team pressed their luck by re-signing the star wideout and got burned this time around. He was suspended by the NFL due to a fake vaccine card and then released late in the year after refusing to take the field. The fiasco turned out to be a bigger headache than it was worth for the team in 2021.

Bridgewater had an adequate season as Denver's starter, going 7-7with 18/7 TD/INT, but the addition wasn't good enough for the Broncos to sniff the playoffs. He was certainly a more consistent performer than Drew Lock, but Denver is heading into another offseason looking for answers at quarterback.

Samuel had a year to forget for Washington. He looked like a great fit reuniting with former Carolina offensive coach Scott Turner and signing a three-year deal, but Samuel was plagued by a groin injury for most of the year. While Samuel appeared in five games, he recorded only six catches.

Despite the presence of Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers traded three first-round picks for the right to take Lance third overall in the draft. The former North Dakota State quarterback effectively had a redshirt year and looked lost much of the time when he did take the field. San Francisco could regret taking Lance instead of Mac Jones or Justin Fields.

Paying running backs rarely works out well, but the Drake signing was especially bad. He signed a two-year, $11 million contract but seemed to fall out of favor in training camp. Drake finished the season with only 93 touches for 545 yards in 12 games.

There isn't much risk in a one-year contract, but Fuller's one-year deal worth $10.6 million was still a disaster for Miami. He was suspended to begin the year and then played only two games due to injury. Fuller's long history of injuries should have been a warning sign for the Dolphins.

Tennessee's acquisition of Jones for a second and fourth-round pick seemed like a home run at the time, but he turned out to be damaged goods. Jones battled hamstring issues for much of the year, appearing in only 10 games with 31 catches for 434 yards. He's now missed significant time to injuries in back-to-back seasons.

The Patriots had a busy offseason, and not every move was golden. New England gave Agholor a two-year, $22 million contract as they rebuilt their receiver corps, but the first season was a huge disappointment with only 37 catches for 473 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games. After recording 72 yards in Week 1, Agholor failed to match that total the rest of the way.

Despite an injury history, the Seahawks extended Carson for two years and over $10.4 million. He was lost for the season in early October. Carson's future in Seattle could be on shaky ground after former first-round pick Rashaad Penny emerged late in the year.

A former first-round pick by the Bengals, Jackson was paid by Washington in the offseason to a tune of a three-year, $40.5 million contract. He appeared in only 12 games and was roughed up by opposing defenses, allowing a 100.4 Passer Rating and ranking near the bottom of all cornerbacks at Pro Football Focus.

Tennessee signed Dupree to a huge five-year, $82.5 million contract despite the pass rusher suffering a torn ACL last December. He managed to make a quick recovery, but still missed time to injury and recorded only three sacks in 11 games.

Fuller was one of the best corners in football in his prime with Chicago, but those days are clearly behind him. He struggled after signing a one-year, $9.5 million contract with Denver, allowing a 119.8 Passer Rating to opposing quarterbacks.

The addition of Fitzpatrick as a stopgap at quarterback had sound logic, but the move simply didn't work out for Washington. Fitzpatrick suffered a season-ending hip injury in Week 1, and the team was never able to get over the hump with backup Taylor Heinicke.

The addition of Dalton on a one-year deal last offseason was already curious with Nick Foles on the roster and became even worse after the team drafted Justin Fields. Head coach Matt Nagy was forced to field questions about his quarterback early in the year, and Dalton really struggled when he did play, posting a terrible 33.2 QBR.

Arizona hoped Watt was the missing piece for their defense when they signed him to a two-year, $31 million deal. Instead, he struggled to stay healthy again and was ineffective when he did play with just one sack and seven hurries in seven games.

Breeland was a solid starter for the Chiefs in their two Super Bowl seasons, and Minnesota hoped the veteran could solidify their second for $4 million. He turned out to be one of the worst corners in the league before a disagreement led to his release late in the season.

The Rams hoped Jackson could eat a deep threat to their offense when they signed him in the offseason for $4.5 million, but he was never a fit for the team. After catching a total of eight balls in seven games, LA traded Jackson to the Raiders.

KC hoped to add some pass rush with Reed for $7 million, but he made a very minimal impact with only 2.5 sacks and seven hurries in 17 games. The move also spurred the team to move Chris Jones to defensive end early in the year, which was one of many reasons for their early defensive struggles.

The Lions only spent a seventh-round pick to acquire Brockers from the Rams, but his three-year extension after the trade isn't workout out well so far. Brockers had a tough time in his first season, with only one sack and four hurries while ranking near the bottom of the interior defender rankings by Pro Football Focus.

After a breakout season in which Lawson recorded 11 hurries and 5.5 sacks for the Bengals, he was given a three-year, $45 million contract by New York. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn Achilles in the preseason, making the first year of the contract a lost one.