The NFL is not quite the star-driven league that the NBA is—in the sense that one superstar talent doesn’t immediately catapult an organization into contention, perhaps with the exception of a truly elite franchise quarterback…
But digression aside—just because one guy can’t make a team—doesn’t mean that a disgruntled or fallen star can’t downright wreck the organization that signs their checks. Let’s take a look at 10 of today’s NFL stars that could do just that and ruin the 2023 season for their team.
Aaron Rodgers
The New York Jets—a team desperate for a quarterback capable of delivering what they need to be taken seriously once again…. with a long-standing reputation for having horrendous misfortune befall them—have entered a love-affair with a mercurial, media-hating quarterback, who turns 40 this season.
I don’t know about you all, but to us, this seems like a situationship that is destined to let Jets fans down and break their collective hearts.
Rodgers has developed a reputation, particularly over the last few years, during which some skeletons have been shaken out of his closet, for not being the easiest guy to have leading your locker room…
He seems to be polarizing in a way that is captivating to some players, but off-putting to others—and can cause a divide capable of dooming even the most promising of teams…
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Just think back to last year’s Green Bay Packers team. Everyone and their mother had them as an early favorite to be contending for the Lombardi Trophy… But Rodgers and his head coach Matt LeFleur never really seemed to be on the same page and that rift reverberated through the rest of the team.
At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything with Rodgers… Maybe he comes to New York on a revenge tour and absolutely lights it up… It just seems like a very real possibility that instead he comes in and butts head with the media—after provoking them with his strange comments—fights with teammates and or coaches… And as a result the Jets, yet again, fail to play up to the potential of their roster.
Saquon Barkley
Sticking in New York… The Giants could face a similar fate once they finalize a new deal with their long-time running back Saquon Barkley.
When healthy—Barkley has proven he’s one of the league’s best rushers… But staying on the field has proven to be a serious challenge for the former Penn State standout.
And even if he can stay on the field—we’ve also seen nagging injuries really take the wind out of his sails performance wise.
If and when the Giants find a way to retain Barkley, they are going to have to invest a decent chunk of change to do so… Particularly considering the position Saquon plays.
And if he can’t bring the goods like he did last year, well, it could get ugly in Big Apple very quickly.
Saquon isn’t the only running back carrying the weight of their franchise on his shoulders with a high chance of disaster looming.
Derrick Henry
Tennessee Titans star, Derrick Henry, is, perhaps, the most integral non-quarterback to an offense in the entire league—and over the past few seasons he has had one of the highest usage rates in the entire league.
He’s led the NFL in carries three out of the four years—with the one exception being 2021, when he missed half of the year due to an injury, an injury that I suppose shouldn’t be a huge surprise considering that he was pacing well over 400 carries at the time he got hurt.
With the quarterback position being such a question mark for the Titans heading into 2023, it is even more crucial that Henry is the superstar version of himself that we have all come to expect since he took over as the full-time starter in 2018.
But at 29-years of age—and with the crazy workload that he’s endured over the past few years—there is a huge risk that the wheels fall off at some point during this year… And he either gets hurt or just regresses performance-wise, which we did see some indication of last year.And if that happens—even in an extremely mediocre AFC South—the Titans could be in BIG trouble.
TJ Watt
Moving across the line of scrimmage to the defensive side of the ball—to another injury-prone star, let’s talk about Pittsburgh Steelers’ edge rusher, TJ Watt, who, like Henry is the straw that stirs the drink for his team.
We saw this exemplified so clearly during 2022, when he missed time, too.
Granted, last year was going to be a tough year for Pittsburgh no matter what… With Ben Roethlisberger retiring it was guaranteed to be a transitional year in many ways… Especially with a rookie quarterback in Kenny Pickett—and Mitch Trubisky an unproven retread, as the two options under center.
Even with that adversity—and playing in a challenging AFC North division, they still managed to stay above .500, finishing nine and eight, narrowly missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker.
That accomplishment looks even crazier when you account for the fact that Watt played just 10 games—missing seven total.
His injury came during a Week 1 win against the AFC finalist Bengals—and before he got hurt, he was absolutely balling, notching six tackles, three for a loss, and even snagging an interception.
But once Watt went out—the Steelers proceeded to lose their next four games—and six of the seven in total.
That put Pittsburgh at two and six and its streak of non-losing seasons in serious jeopardy. But once Watt came back into the fold Week nine against New Orleans—all seemed to be right again.
Pittsburgh closed out their season winning seven of nine—all of which Watt played in—and was unsurprisingly a high-impact player. Even in games where is numbers weren’t out this world—he seems to just be the tide that raises all of the boats in the Pittsburgh locker room.
I say all of this to say—that let’s hope that TJ doesn’t end up going down the same path as his older brother, JJ… He has battled some nagging injuries in the past—and without him—Pittsburgh just isn’t the same team.
So, he has to stay healthy—or it is safe to assume that the season is as good as wrecked.
Joey Bosa
Sticking on the defensive side of the ball, let’s talk about two other big-named pass rushers, who hold quite a bit of power—and influence on the outcome of their respective team’s seasons.
First up, Joey Bosa.
Bosa… Like Watt, has been one of the best edge rushers in the game… Pretty much since he broke into the league in 2016 out of Ohio State.
Also… like Watt… he has had some issues with staying on the field—in fact—even more so than Watt I’d say. During his seven-year career, he has played more than 12 games just three times—and twice, he’s played less than eight, seven in ’18 and 5 this past season.
But Bosa’s ability to wreck the season for Los Angeles isn’t just related to his issues with injury. Perhaps even more concerning—in his temper—and his propensity for committing some of the dumbest penalties we’ve seen when his emotions get the best of him.
We even saw him do this in the most critical of moments, during their backbreaking loss to the Jaguars during the playoffs, when LA improbably squandered a 27 to nothing lead.
The moment of truth came for Bosa late in the fourth quarter, when Jacksonville notched another score to cut the deficit to just four points—enraged, the defensive end removed his helmet and slammed it down on the field.
This marked his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the game—and this one had game-altering implications—because it allowed Jacksonville to attempt a two-point conversion from the one-yard line, rather than the two, which they likely wouldn’t have even attempted anyway, instead settling for the P.A.T like normal.
But Doug Pederson sensed an opportunity and went for it. And more importantly, the Jags converted, making it a two-point game—and setting kicker, Riley Patterson for a game-winning attempt after a big stop from the Jacksonville D.
And thus, Chargers fans have two things to worry about when it comes to Joey Bosa not endangering another year of them having a stud quarterback in Justin Herbert under center on a rookie deal… He needs to stay on the field… and when he’s on it, well, let’s just hope he can keep his cool too.
Chase Young
In many ways, this is similar to our last defensive player on this list, Chase Young.
Washington’s young defensive lineman looked like he was on his way to stardom in 2020, when he cruised to Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, playing 15 of 16 games and terrorizing opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators alike.
But he has really fallen off in the time since. He played just 12 games in the last two seasons—and even worse his attitude flipped entirely.
He seems unhappy—and somewhat disinterested in Washington—and now that the team hasn’t picked up his fifth-year option, I’m sure that the tensions will only be raised this season.
Now… Young is headed into a contract year. So, maybe he does decide to re-engage and ball out. If for the paycheck than nothing else.
But this is the Washington—now Commanders that we are talking about. And things tend not to just bounce their way.
And there is also a very really possibility that Young’s attitude sours further and bad goes to worse for him and the Commanders.
Washington has some promise in 2023… They have a young, solid team… But the idea of a star player like Young going full malcontent should make it all the more concerning. With his influence, he is more than capable of destroying a season by splintering the locker room.
Odell Bechkam Jr
Moving on—let’s stay in the great DMV area and talk about the latest star-caliber addition to the Baltimore Ravens, Odell Bechkam Jr.
OBJ is an immensely talented wide receiver, but he’s kind of like the Kyrie Irving of the NFL—everywhere he goes he seems to leave the organization in flames on his way out.
I mean, I’m sure everyone remembers those crazy outbursts during the end of his time with the New York Giants… And it got so bad in Cleveland that he basically ruined not just the season, but also their first overall pick, Baker Mayfield’s confidence.
The only time it has been peaceful for Beckham was in LA, but that’s more to do with him playing only a handful of games for them than anything having progressed in his personality.
Sure… He’s excited to be joining up with Lamar in Baltimore for the moment… but let’s see how it all shakes out. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be stunned to see things falling apart for the Ravens fast. With the run-heavy offense that Baltimore will likely run to take advantage of their personnel—OBJ might get just a handful of targets most weeks… Is that going to be enough to keep him satisfied? I don’t know—but it seems unlikely.
Not a pleasant thought for Ravens fans, who’ve seen Beckham’s exploits elsewhere—and that he can really ruin a season with the best of them.
Deshaun Watson
Last up we have quarterbacks to close things out.
Let’s stay in the AFC North, with Deshaun Watson in Cleveland.
Fans and teammates were patient with the embattled star quarterback last year when he struggled after returning from his suspension.
But with a handful of live games under his belt—and a full year of training, that patience will run out very quickly—if he continues to flounder.
After all, he is on a preposterous fully guaranteed mammoth of a contract—and everyone is already tired of compromising their moral compass by playing with him or watching him…People will turn on him so fast—neither he nor the Browns will know what hit him and yet another Browns season is down the toilet.
Russell Wilson
Just like Denver Broncos’ season will be if their big-named quarterback with an albatross contract can’t find a way to step it up.
Year one in the Mile High City went just about as poorly as it possibly could’ve for Russell Wilson.
He alienated himself from his teammates, was made a laughingstock in the media, and played some downright horrendous football.
I mean, the Broncos had a defense that was Super Bowl-ready—and some legit players on offense around him. All he needed to do was be average and they could’ve walked into the postseason.
But he was embarrassingly bad—and without significant improvement, the media and his teammates could turn on him entirely, something that would be catastrophic for the Broncos 2023 hopes.
Dak Prescott
Last up, we have Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott, who let’s face it, is just coming off a 2022 season that he wrecked for Dallas.
He threw 15 interceptions during the regular season—in just 11 games! And to make matters worse, he didn’t put up the same kind of passing numbers that he has in the past.
But even with his attempts at sabotage, Dallas managed to continue to find ways to win games and qualify for the playoffs, where Prescott found new levels of stink.
During the Divisional Round, he notched his sixth multi-interception game of the year, tossing two INTs and accumulating just 206 yards, as the 49ers stomped out Dallas.
If Prescott continues to perform like that—Dallas has no shot in 2023.
Which NFL star do you think is most likely to wreck their team in 2023? Did we miss anyone?
