The NFC teams’ worst free-agent signings since 2024

The NFL and its supporters are excited about free agents as the league’s new season officially begins on Wednesday. On Monday at noon ET, players may start negotiating with teams.

While some teams will locate fool’s gold in free agency, others will find jewels. Here are the worst free-agent signings made by each NFC team since the 2019 offseason, as determined by Yardbarker NFL writers.

NFL East

WR Michael Gallup (2022) | DALLAS COWBOYSDallas signed Gallup to a five-year, $57.5 million contract deal after the 2021 season, hoping that he would become the team’s No. 2 receiver, unconcerned about his ACL injury sustained in the regular-season finale. Dallas’ fourth-ranked receiver has only made 73 receptions for 842 yards and six touchdown catches since that time. He also has a $13.85 million 2024 cap hit. Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News reports that he has been given permission by the organization to look for a trade partner.

WR Kenny Golladay of the New York Giants (2021)Golladay had a league-high 11 touchdown catches for the Lions at the end of 2019, but he missed 11 games the following season due to hamstring and hip issues. The Giants nevertheless offered him a $72 million, four-year contract in 2021 despite this. Before being cut, he had one touchdown reception and 602 receiving yards in his two seasons with the Giants.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ James Bradberry (2023) at cornerbackBradberry joined the team after the deadline in 2022 and did well enough to earn a new deal for 2023 during the team’s Super Bowl run. However, following his three-year, $38 million contract, the 30-year-old cornerback underperformed, particularly in a Week 15 game when he gave up 87 of 92 receiving yards, including quarterback Drew Lock’s game-winning touchdown pass.

Commanders in Chief, Washington, DC | CB William Jackson III (2021) |Despite spending four seasons with the Bengals, he was mostly employed in man coverage. However, in 2021, head coach Ron Rivera of the Commanders gave him a three-year, $40.5 million contract to play zone coverage. In 16 games, he committed 11 penalties and was an unsuitable fit. The team traded him to the Steelers in 2022. — Bruce Ewing

West NFC

Jordan Phillips, DL, Arizona Cardinals (2020)After finishing with a career-high 9.5 sacks in Buffalo, Phillips inked a three-year, $30 million deal with the Cardinals. Before being released after the 2021 season, he had only five sacks in two seasons marred by injuries—nothing near equaling that in Arizona.

Allen Robinson, WR, Los Angeles Rams (2022)Robinson was a standout player with the Bears, and the Rams signed him to a three-year, $46 million contract, which they soon regretted. He only caught 33 receptions in his one and only season with the Rams before being sold to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2023, along with their own seventh-round pick.

Kwon Alexander, LB, San Francisco 49ers (2019)In the hopes that Alexander could be an impact linebacker in the heart of their defense, the 49ers signed him to a four-year, $54 million contract in 2019. However, a pectoral injury ended his debut season with the organization, and a year later, the franchise traded him to the Saints.

Greg Olsen, TE, Seattle Seahawks (2020)Olsen’s one-year deal in Seattle was a waste of the team’s meager salary cap room for a guy who didn’t improve the roster in a significant way. After just one year in the NFL, Olsen had caught just 24 passes. Since then, he has pursued a career in broadcasting with Fox Sports. Adam Gretz

North Atlantic NFC

CHICAGO BEARS | DE Al-Quadin Muhammad (2022) After he had a breakout six-sack season with the Indianapolis Colts the previous season, the Bears signed the former sixth-round choice to a two-year, $8 million contract, taking a chance. But with just one sack and 29 tackles in 16 games, the return on investment was, at best, mediocre.
OT Halapoulivaati Vaitai | DETROIT LIONS (2020) |Vaitai received a five-year, $45 million ($20 million guaranteed) contract after excelling with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he hasn’t lived up to it yet. He played in just three games in 2023 due to injuries and subpar play, and as of 2024, he is just an overpriced backup.

Sammy Watkins, wide receiver, Green Bay Packers (2022)In search of a replacement for the big hole created by the Davante Adams trade, the Packers signed Watkins to a $1.8 million, one-year contract. But before being cut after Week 14, he only appeared in three games, catching 13 of 22 targets for 206 yards.

Marcus Davenport, DE for the Minnesota Vikings (2023)After finishing the 2023 season with a career-high nine sacks, Davenport signed a one-year, $13 million contract; however, in just four games (three starts), he managed just two sacks and seven tackles. To make matters worse, his deal’s $6.8 million gets deducted from the 2024 cap. He might be a victim of a cap. Santa Barbara Mike

NFC Southern

Marcus Mariota, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (2022)Mariota received his first opportunity to follow the 2016 league MVP when the Falcons moved veteran starting quarterback Matt Ryan during the 2022 offseason, but things didn’t go as planned. After just one season, he was released after being benched for Desmond Ridder after 13 starts.

Miles Sanders, running back (2023) with the Carolina Panthers, was given a four-year, $25.4 million contract by the Panthers last offseason, breaking the tradition of not paying RBs large salaries. However, in 2023, the sixth-year running back only started five games and ran for 432 yards. Running back is one of the deepest positions available in this year’s free agency class; thus, Carolina, with a meager $11.9 million in cap space, poured a lot of money into the position a year early.

QB Derek Carr of the New Orleans Saints (2023)The biggest addition made over the offseason last year helped New Orleans make the playoffs. Rather, it was the Saints’ third consecutive year of missing the postseason. With at least 20 red-zone pass attempts in 2023, Carr’s completion percentage of 51.5 placed him 23rd out of 35 quarterbacks.

Antonio Brown (2020) is a wide receiver with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.When Brown got to Tampa, he was already a shadow of the All-Pro player he once was. Although Brown’s tenure with the team wasn’t entirely in vain—Tampa Bay did win Super Bowl LV, after all—his tenure with the Bucs ended badly. After the team defeated the Jets in Week 17, 2021, he disrobed on the sidelines and left the field. Eric Smithling