The annual NFL free agency frenzy is one of the most dramatic scenes in the NFL. Every year, players with expiring contracts get the chance to leave their franchise and find a new home. However, these new homes don’t always work out for the teams or players. Here are the fifteen biggest NFL free agency busts of all time.
Which of these NFL free agents became busts after they signed with a new team?
15. Seahawks sign Matt Flynn in 2012
After backing up Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay and throwing for over 900 yards in only two starts, Matt Flynn quickly became one of the hottest quarterbacks in the 2012 free-agency market. The Seattle Seahawks signed Flynn to a three-year contract worth over nineteen million dollars. This seemed like a great deal at the time, and Flynn was expected to be the Seahawk’s franchise guy moving forward.
However, that all changed in the 2012 preseason when a third-round pick by the name of Russell Wilson earned the starting job and benched Matt Flynn. Flynn appeared in three games for Seattle but didn’t start any of them. He was traded to Oakland in 2013. Flynn essentially just got paid a starter’s salary to ride the bench. Not a bad gig for Matt Flynn.
14. Eagles sign Nnamdi Asomugha in 2011
Asomugha was a pro-bowl cornerback for the Oakland Raiders from 2003 to 2010. He was coming off his third-consecutive Pro Bowl appearance in 2010 and his second all-pro selection when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Asomugha was ranked as the top available NFL free agent in 2011 and signed a five-year deal worth $60 million. The move didn’t end up paying off, and the Nnamdi struggled with the Eagles. He was released by the team in 2012.
13. Washington signs Albert Haynesworth in 2009
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Albert Haynesworth was ranked as the top defensive tackle in the 2009 NFL free agency market. He was coming off back-to-back Pro Bowl and all-pro seasons with the Titans before signing a seven-year deal worth $100 million with Washington. Haynesworth’s season statistics were essentially cut in half compared to his Pro Bowl seasons in Tennessee, and he was not even a full-time starter in his second year in Washington.
12. Tampa Bay signs Alvin Harper in 1995
Alvin Harper was a young, promising receiver for the Dallas Cowboys before joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995. Harper never eclipsed 1,000 yards with the Cowboys, but his average yards per reception were atop the best in the league. Upon signing with the Bucs in 1995, Harper’s production took a dip, and he only caught 44% of his targets. The following year was worse, and he failed to crack 300 receiving yards. Harper bounced around the NFC East from 1997 to 1999 before ending his pro football career in the XFL.
11. Seahawks sign Franco Harris in 1984
Still a young franchise in the NFL, the Seahawks needed some firepower on offense, so they went out and signed one of the greatest running backs in the game, Franco Harris. Harris had a wild contract dispute with the Steelers and ended up joining the Seahawks in 1984. Harris only received about $300,000 from Seattle, but that is all he earned. Harris recorded about a tenth of the yards he had the previous year and never found the endzone in a Seahawks uniform.
10. Texans sign Brock Osweiler in 2016
Brock Osweiler seemingly got away with the robbery once he ended his time in Houston. The Texans signed the young backup to Peyton Manning, who helped the Broncos win the Superbowl in 2015, to a four-year deal worth $72 million with a $12 million signing bonus. Osweiler was expected to be the Texans’ franchise guy, a team that has struggled with quarterback play for decades until this point.
Unfortunately for Texans’ fans, the struggle continued, and Osweiler went 8-6 as the team’s starter, throwing for less than 3,000 yards and amassing more interceptions than touchdowns. Osweiler quickly found himself back in Denver in 2017 and was out of the league at the end of 2018.
9. Patriots Sign Antonio Brown in 2019
Antonio Brown was just as entertaining on the field as he currently is on Twitter, and the Patriots were gearing up to capitalize on his explosiveness in 2019. The Patriots paid Brown $9 million dollars to catch four passes in 2019, one of which went for a touchdown. Brown left for the Buccaneers in 2020 where he was able to catch more than just one touchdown that year.
8. Lions sign Scott Mitchell in 1994
Mitchell was expected to be the next great plug-and-play quarterback after backing up Dan Marino in Miami. The Lions were high on Mitchell and signed him to a three-year contract worth $11 million dollars. This may seem like a small amount, but the impact this had on the game was monumental, as Mitchell became one of the first NFL players to actually benefit from free agency since its inception in 1993.
However, Mitchell and the Lions did not find the success both ends were looking for, and Mitchell never lived up to the hype that he received from being Dan Marino’s backup.
7. Browns sign Andre Rison in 1995
When the Browns signed Rison in 1995, it was the most insane NFL free agency deal for a wide receiver that the league had ever seen. This deal promised Rison $17 million over the course of five years. Rison caught less than half of his targets that year before the Browns Franchise was sent to Baltimore. The following year, Rison chose not to join the team in their move to Baltimore and instead joined the Green Bay Packers, who won the Super Bowl that year.
6. Jets sign Le’Veon Bell in 2019
Le’Veon Bell was arguably the best running back in the league from 2014-2019, and after a dominant run with the Steelers, Bell found himself in a contract dispute that took up the entire 2018 season. At this time, Bell ends up working at a Dairy Queen. How much of this was for attention versus employment?
Not sure. Bell put pen to paper and signed a contract with the Jets for $52.5 million over a four-year period. However, Bell never honored the full contract and never cracked 800 yards on the ground for the rest of his career. He only spent two seasons in New York and was out of the league in 2021.
5. Nick Foles signs with the Jaguars in 2019
Nick Foles’ career has been complicated, to say the least. After assisting as the Eagle’s starter in 2017 and 2018, Foles signed a four-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars worth $88 million. Foles played poorly, to say the least, and never won a game as the team’s starter and was injured in the first game of the season.
Foles lost his starting Job to Gardner Minshew II out of Washington State University. Foles threw for less than 800 yards as a Jaguar and never bounced back from that injury despite playing three more years in the NFL.
4. Chargers sign J.C. Jackson in 2022
The Chargers signed lockdown corner J.C Jackson to a five-year contract worth over $82 million in 2022 after Jackson spent his first four years in New England. Jackson’s production and corner immediately plummeted, and he went from 23 passes defended the year before to only two. He has recorded only one interception as a member of the Chargers and has spent his career bouncing back and forth between New England and Los Angeles.
3. Washington signs Adam Archuleta in 2006
Washington made Archuleta the highest paid safety in the NFL at the time of his free agency signing, but Archuleta certainly didn’t play like he was the highest paid safety. Despite a 6-year $30 million deal, Archuleta so=pent only one season in Washington and started only seven games recording one pass deflection and 60 total tackles. He was sent to Chicago the following year.
2. Giants sign Kenny Golladay in 2021
Golladay was a Pro Bowl receiver for the Lions in 2019 but was injured for most of the 2020 season. He was expected to have a big bounce-back year in 2021 after he signed a four-year deal worth $72 million to become Daniel Jones’ number-one target. However, despite appearing in fourteen games, Golladay didn’t crack 600 yards receiving and seemingly forgot how to catch, hauling in 37 of his 76 targets in 2021. He only recorded one touchdown as a member of the Giants and was out of the league by the end of 2022.
1. Texans sign Ahman Green in 2007
Between 2000 and 2004 Green had accumulated more rushing yards than any other player in the league. Before signing with the Texans in 2007, six of Green’s last seven seasons had been for over 1,000 yards on the ground. However, after signing with the Texans in 2007, Green was not able to replicate the production he had with the Packers and rushed for 554 yards over a two-year period with the Texans. Green’s contract with the Texans worth $23 million over a four-year span seemed like highway robbery, and the Green re-joined the Packers in 2009.
