It takes an extreme amount of talent to make it to the NFL to begin with, let alone to have the staying power to earn the game’s greatest honor and be enshrined in Canton. But even amongst the league’s all-time greats, there are moments that the players and their fans wish they could forget.
For some guys, there are entire phases of their career, like a forgettable twilight stint with some random team. Let’s take a look at 10 Hall of Famers, who tried to squeeze in one last run and outright flopped on their last team.
Johnny Unitas
Everyone knows Johnny Unitas winning a Super Bowl for the Baltimore Colts—and, of course, the critical role he played in furthering the game of football.
What people tend to forget—is that he actually finished his career in San Diego, where he threw seven picks in four starts. The Chargers finished the year 2-11-1 and Unitas retired the following offseason.
Franco Harris
Pittsburgh Steelers icon, Franco Harris’ career is filled with highlights. Unfortunately for the folks in the Pacific Northwest, none of them seemed to come with the Seahawks. Harris totaled a paltry 170 yards on 68 carries before Seattle wised up and cut the future Hall of Famer, essentially ending his career.
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Champ Bailey
Champ Bailey is on the shortlist of greatest defensive players of all-time, let alone defensive backs, but his final act in the Big Easy was a big disappointment. Heading into the 2014 season, Bailey signed a two-year deal with the Saints, then failed to make the final roster entirely, pushing him into retirement.
Randy Moss
Randy Moss’s final act was just about as disappointing as the career revival he experienced with the New England Patriots was epic. He played for three teams in 2010, sat out in 2011, then came back for one last push with the Niners in 2012, where he made just 50 catches for 434 yards. He looked serviceable, but like a shell of his former self and not the force they thought would push the offense over the edge to Super Bowl glory.
Dave Casper
Dave Casper was a bonafide star for the Oakland Raiders during his prime, but after a couple pitstops, his prodigal return was a complete disappointment. The former All-Pro played just seven games and made four catches for 29 yards when he linked back up with the Raiders, who had moved to Los Angeles, in ’84.
Eric Dickerson
Eric Dickerson was a freak athlete among freak athletes, as evidenced by the insane start he had to his career. The end, however, was not quite as enthralling. Dickerson’s final stop came with the Atlanta Falcons in 1993 and he ran for just 91 yards in four games before it was curtains for his Hall of Fame career.
Alan Faneca
During his prime, Alan Faneca was a beast in the trenches for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He spent a decade in the Steel City, earning eight All-Pro selections and winning a Super Bowl.
Afterwards, well, not so much. He played two years with the Jets as part of the Brett Favre experiment, then after becoming a cap causality in 2010, he signed a one-year deal with Arizona, which was underwhelming to the say the least, as the Cardinals went 5 and 11 and Faneca retired the following offseason.
Deacon Jones
Deacon Jones was one of the most fearsome pass rushers in the game during his time with the Rams. So much so, he literally invented the term sack. We are talking about a guy who routinely put up 20-sack seasons for a stretch there!
After 11 years with the Rams, he played two mediocre seasons with the Chargers, then flopped entirely in 1974 with Washington, before drifting off into retirement.
Ronnie Lott
The former San Fransisco 49ers legend, Ronnie Lott, was undeniably one of the greatest defensive backs to ever grace a football field. He won four Super Bowls with the Niners and was a perennial All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection, earning eight and 10 nods respectively.
Lott, however, played football with an extreme level of physicality and athleticism. So, I guess it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that it once age caught up with him, it got ugly fast.
Even so, Lott did have some success with the then Los Angeles Raiders and the New York Jets after his time ended in San Fran, but his last stop—in Kansas City—went so poorly that he never even stepped foot on the field for the Chiefs in a regular season game.
Cris Carter
Cris Carter gets an asterisks on this one—because he had actually retired once already, but when he returned to action joining the Miami Dolphins in ’02 after injuries ravaged their receiving corps it was a disaster.
He finished with just eight catches for 66 yards a lone TD.
