We went over the
best signings in free agency. Now let's take a look at the worst.
This is a list where it's easier to be right. The majority of free-agent deals don't wind up working because too many average starters get paid like superstars. We think the contracts below were the biggest mistakes.
Jets a poor fit for Eric Decker
Poor
Eric Decker. Yes,
he got paid. He's on this list not because of the contract, which is actually somewhat reasonable, but rather because of the fit for the receiver. Decker is closer to a
No. 2 receiver than a No. 1. In New York, he's currently 1A, 1B and 7F. He goes from being the third option, to having the likes of
Darrelle Revis and
Brent Grimes shadowing him on Sundays. Decker traded in his Bentley,
Peyton Manning, for an Oldsmobile Toronado,
Geno Smith. As we discussed on Friday's "
Around The League Podcast" wide receiver went from a pass-happy offense to one that wants to grind the ball. Surely, his reality show will get better ratings in New York now, but his football life just got a whole lot tougher.
-- Kevin Patra
Dallas' handling of DeMarcus Ware
It's not a signing, but it is a debacle.
I first brought this up on the podcast: It has to pain Dallas fans to see
DeMarcus Ware bolt for the Broncosas the direct result of a Dallas front office that can't get out of its own way. While successful NFL teams find ways to create salary cap money and sign talent, the
Cowboys have lost a future
Hall of Famer because the team's cap situation is eternally in disaster mode. In an offseason when Jerry Jones was hard-pressed to improve one of the league's worst defenses, he's parted ways with a rare difference-maker in Ware -- who is now set up well for a monster season in Denver.
-- Marc Sessler
Karlos Dansby to Cleveland
Inside linebackers, like running back, is a position you shouldn't have to overpay for, especially when you are signing a 32-year-old. Dansby was cut by Miami after the 2012 season and had to accept a $2.25 million deal in 2013. Now the
Browns are going to pay Dansby
$10 million in 2014 and $14 million over two seasons. You get worse in free agency by getting older and paying sub-
Pro Bowlplayers like superstars. The talent around Dansby in Arizona was a big factor in his huge campaign.
Paying
Donte Whitner huge money to replace safety
T.J. Ward was also curious. He's made strides in pass coverage, but there's a reason the
49ers didn't try that hard to keep him.
-- Gregg Rosenthal
Any Raiders signing
To quote
Buffalo Springfield: "Something's happening here.
What it is, ain't exactly clear."
Fighting to save his job, general manager Reggie McKenzie
drastically overpaid for a pair of average tackles only to have his owner put the kibosh on
Rodger Saffold's $42.5 million contract just as the player's parents were
arriving in town to witness the signing. McKenzie then began reconstructing his decrepit defense by signing an aging, injury-prone
Justin Tuck to a contract the
Giants had
no interest in matching. McKenzie's free agency approach is a
desperate, flailing heave -- not a model for sustained success.
-- Chris Wesseling
Chris Williams to Buffalo
Williams started 16 games for the
Rams last season, but nobody was confusing him with
Logan Mankins. Williams was average --
at best -- grading out at 74th among 81 qualifying guards last season, according to Pro Football Focus. That didn't stop the
Bills from handing Williams a
four-year, $13.5 million deal that included $5.5 million guaranteed. Huh?
The picture says a thousand words.
-- Dan Hanzus
