Worst free-agent signing by each NFC team since 2019

With the official start of the new NFL year on Wednesday, the league and its fans are abuzz about free agents. Players may enter into negotiations with teams beginning on Monday at noon ET.

Some teams will find gems in free agency; others will uncover fool's gold. As identified by Yardbarker NFL writers, here is each NFC team's worst free-agent signing since the 2019 offseason.

NFC East 

DALLAS COWBOYS | WR Michael Gallup (2022) | Unconcerned about his ACL injury in the regular-season finale, Dallas hoped Gallup would settle in as the team’s No. 2 receiver when it signed him to a five-year, $57.5M contract extension after the 2021 season. Since then, Dallas' No. 4 receiver has just 73 catches for 842 yards and six TD catches and carries a $13.85M cap hit for 2024. The team has given him permission to seek a trade partner, per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News.

NEW YORK GIANTS | WR Kenny Golladay (2021) | After finishing 2019 with a league-high 11 touchdown catches for the Lions, Golladay missed 11 games with hip and hamstring injuries the following season. That didn’t stop the Giants from giving him a four-year, $72M deal in 2021. In two seasons with the Giants before his release, he had one TD catch and 602 yards receiving. 

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES | CB James Bradberry (2023) | Bradberry was a late roster addition in 2022 and played well enough during the team’s Super Bowl run to warrant a new contract for 2023. But the 30-year-old cornerback struggled after signing a three-year, $38M deal, especially in a Week 15 game in which he allowed 87 of 92 yards receiving yards on Seattle’s winning drive, including the go-ahead touchdown pass by quarterback Drew Lock. 

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS | CB William Jackson III  (2021) | Although he was used primarily in man coverage in four seasons as a Bengal, the Commanders handed him a three-year, $40.5M contract to play zone coverage in 2021 under head coach Ron Rivera. He committed 11 penalties in 16 games and proved to be a bad fit. In 2022, the team traded him to the Steelers. — Bruce Ewing

NFC West 

ARIZONA CARDINALS | DL Jordan Phillips (2020) | The Cardinals signed Phillips to a three-year, $30 million contract after he came off a career year with 9.5 sacks in Buffalo. He never came close to matching that in Arizona, recording just five sacks in two injury-plagued seasons before his release following the 2021 season. 

LOS ANGELES RAMS | WR Allen Robinson (2022) | The Rams signed Robinson, a standout with the Bears, to a three-year, $46 million contract they quickly came to regret. After catching just 33 passes in his only season with the Rams, they traded him (and their own seventh-round pick in 2023) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a seventh-round pick.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS | LB Kwon Alexander (2019) | The 49ers signed Alexander to a four-year, $54 million contract in 2019 in the hopes he could be an impact linebacker in the middle of their defense. But his first season with the team was cut short by a pectoral injury and the team traded him a year later to the Saints. 

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS | TE Greg Olsen (2020) | Olsen’s one-year contract in Seattle was a poor use of the team’s limited salary cap space for a player who didn’t address a meaningful need on the roster. Olsen caught just 24 passes and was out of the NFL just one year later. He has since gone on to a broadcasting career with Fox Sports. — Adam Gretz

NFC North 

CHICAGO BEARS | DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (2022) | The Bears gambled on the former sixth-round pick after he had a breakout six-sack campaign with the Indianapolis Colts the previous season, signing him to a two-year, $8 million deal. However, the return on investment was lackluster at best, yielding only one sack and 29 tackles over 16 games.
DETROIT LIONS | OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai (2020) | Shining with the Philadelphia Eagles earned Vaitai a five-year, $45 million ($20 million guaranteed) payday, which he has yet to live up to. Injuries and below-average play limited him to only three games in 2023, and entering 2024, he's little more than an overpaid backup. 

GREEN BAY PACKERS | WR Sammy Watkins (2022) | Needing to fill the significant void left behind by the Davante Adams trade, the Packers turned to Watkins, signing him to a one-year, $1.8 million deal. However, he played in only three games before his release after Week 14, catching 13 of 22 targets for 206 yards. 

MINNESOTA VIKINGS | DE Marcus Davenport (2023) | A season removed from a career-high nine-sack campaign, Davenport signed a one-year, $13 million deal, but he had only two sacks and seven tackles in four games (three starts) in 2023. Even worse, $6.8 million from his deal counts against the 2024 cap. He could be a cap casualty. — Mike Santa Barbara

NFC South 

ATLANTA FALCONS | Quarterback Marcus Mariota (2022) | When the Falcons traded longtime starting quarterback Matt Ryan during the 2022 offseason, Mariota got the first crack at following the 2016 league MVP, but things didn’t go well. He was benched after 13 starts for Desmond Ridder and released after only one season. 

CAROLINA PANTHERS | Running back Miles Sanders (2023) | The Panthers bucked trends on not giving RBs big money, handing Sanders a four-year, $25.4 million contract last offseason, but the sixth-year running back only started five games and rushed for 432 yards in 2023. With running back being one of the deepest positions in this year’s free agency, Carolina — which only has $11.9 million in cap space — allocated significant resources to the position a year early. 

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | Quarterback Derek Carr (2023) | New Orleans banked on last offseason’s biggest addition leading the team to the playoffs. Instead, the Saints missed the postseason for the third year in a row. Among 35 quarterbacks with at least 20 red-zone pass attempts in 2023, Carr ranked 23rd in completion percentage (51.5) 

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS | Wide receiver Antonio Brown (2020) | Brown was already a shell of his All-Pro form when he arrived in Tampa. His time with the organization wasn’t completely wasted — Tampa Bay won Super Bowl LV, after all — but Brown's run ended ingloriously with the Bucs. In a Week 17 win in 2021 over the Jets, he disrobed on the sideline and walked off the field. — Eric Smithling