t happens every year in every sport. Teams sign players to big-money contracts in free agency, and the players fall figuratively (and sometimes literally) flat on their faces the next year.
These are the NFL players who could end up not living up to their contact, and ultimately disappointing the teams that signed them this season. This list only includes players who signed to new teams, so players who were simply retained don’t count (I’m looking at you, Darren McFadden).
5. Donald Brown, RB, San Diego Chargers
The Chargers didn’t sign Brown to much money — only three years and $10.5 million — but he still has the potential to be almost invisible in San Diego’s offense.
San Diego already has Ryan Mathews on the roster, as well as Danny Woodhead. Granted, Mathews is often hurt, but Brown has never really been the dominating back that the Chargers need. Since drafting Mathews, the Chargers have always been trying to find a No. 1 back because of Mathews injuries and inconsistent play, but Brown isn’t that answer.
Woodhead can already catch the ball out of the backfield, and Brown made 214 of his yards last season through the air, and if Mathews is healthy, it would be tough to find many touches for him.
Brown has only broken 500 yards in a season twice in his five years in the league, and simply has never been a top rushing option for a team up until the Colts decided to go with him full time over Trent Richardson last year.
He could have done good things for a team that actually needed a spell back, but the Chargers simply already have their running back needs filled for the time being, and Brown isn’t a good fit with the backs they already have.
4. Josh McCown, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s tough to see what direction Tampa Bay is going to go with their quarterback spot at the moment, but signing McCown wasn’t the smartest move to try to address that position.
They already had Mike Glennon, who showed flashes in his rookie year of being at least an average NFL quarterback — if not a great one. The Bucs didn’t spent a ton of money on McCown, but he could be a bust in a number of ways.
This will only stunt Glennon’s growth. He could have developed more as a quarterback if he had gotten playing time, but it appears Tampa signed McCown with the idea that he’d come in and be the starter.
However, Lance Zierlein of The Football Guys podcast said during his most recent show that the Buccaneers plan to draft Johnny Manziel if he falls to No. 6 overall, which makes this signing even more confusing. Even if he ends up starting, McCown hasn’t had enough of a sample size as a legitimate NFL quarterback to warrant a starting job.
In his eight games under center with the Bears, he was throwing to Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery with Matt Forte in the backfield rather than in Tampa where his receiving weapons will drop off after Vincent Jackson.
Prior to his big 2013 season, for every interception that McCown had thrown in his career, he only threw about an eighth of a touchdown. And prior to last year, McCown had never started in more than 13 games in a season, the last time being in 2004 for the Arizona Cardinals when he threw 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing just 57 percent of his passes.
Despite being older, McCown is still an unknown commodity.
3. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, New York Giants
There’s no doubt that Rodgers-Cromartie is a talented defensive back, but the Giants have to be wondering what Rodgers-Cromartie they’re going to get.
After spending his first three years with the Cardinals, he really dropped off in two years with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Rodgers-Cromartie may have never gotten back on track were it not for Jack Del Rio’s defense in Denver.
He had one good year with the Broncos, but you have to wonder if it was more the system than the player.
Prior to last year’s Super Bowl as well, Rodgers-Cromartie pondered retirement if the Broncos won the title (they didn’t). This means that Rodgers-Cromartie could check out at any time, and he is only two years removed from having a terrible season with Philly when he didn’t record a single interception in 13 games.
2. Michael Oher, OT, Tennessee Titans
Oher has gained a lot of attention over the last few years because of his story being turned into a movie.
But anyone who has watched his tape in Baltimore knows that Oher’s play (especially last season) is really questionable. Oher often got burned by outside rushers and he contributed to the Ravens having one of the worst overall offenses in the league.
Tennessee gave him $20 million over four seasons, and it’s unlikely they’ll feel good about that contract three years from now.
Oher can be a very good right tackle for the Titans, but he’ll be making $ million a year, more than Zach Strief, who is a better player than Oher.
With Oher at right tackle last season, Ray Rice has his worst year as a pro and Joe Flacco’s interception numbers skyrocketed. He can be a starter in this league, but his poor play last season in Baltimore really brings into question if he is worth a four-year deal.
1. Eric Decker, WR, New York Jets
Is the Peyton Manning factor really that big of a deal for recievers? For most, yes. And for Decker, it remains to be seen.
Decker is being paid like he will keep up his numbers from his time in Denver with Manning throwing to him (five years and $36.3 million) but he simply can’t keep up those paces. Prior to having Manning at quarterback, Decker was only targeted eight times in 2010 and he had just 612 yards in 2011.
But between the last two years with Manning, Decker had 24 total touchdowns.
In New York, he will have Michael Vick throwing to him for at least the first part of the season, but everyone is aware of Vick’s health concerns, which could bring Geno Smith back under center.
In his second year back in the NFL in 2011, Vick had over 3,000 yards and threw 21 touchdowns. But over time, his protection of the ball remains a concern, as he’s thrown 27 in his last three years with Philly.
With those kinds of numbers, Vick simply can’t keep Decker’s protection up to what he was used to under Manning.
If Vick was to go down, Smith would take over, and his turnover concerns are even larger than Vick’s. In his rookie campaign, Smith had 21 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions. In Denver, Decker had a number of weapons around him, but for the Jets, he’ll be THE guy, and we really just don’t know how he’ll adapt to that.