The beauty of NFL free agency is that if a team manages it correctly, it’s a nice and effective shortcut on your quest to a Super Bowl championship.
The downside is that it just takes one awful and disastrous signing to set a franchise back. And trust us, this has happened many times in the NFL free agency era.
Let’s take a dive into five NFL free agent signings that immediately saved an NFL franchise and five that completely broke one.
Saved A Franchise: Drew Brees To New Orleans Saints
In terms of one single free agent single-handedly changing an NFL franchise, nobody had a greater impact than Drew Brees in New Orleans.
The San Diego Chargers were ready to roll with Philip Rivers as their new QB, so Brees entered free agency in 2006. The Miami Dolphins also had interest in Brees but infamously had concerns about his shoulder, so they made the ill-fated move of passing on him and trading for Daunte Culpepper instead.
That allowed the Saints to win the Brees sweepstakes, signing him to a six-year deal worth $60 million. Brees had come to The Big Easy with another future Hall of Famer in Sean Payton, who was hired as the Saints’ new head coach that same year in 2006.
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It was simply heartwarming and emotional enough that the Saints had returned to New Orleans in ‘06, one year after the devastating tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. These Saints were easy to root for, and Payton and Brees headlined the dramatic franchise-changing turnaround.
The Saints won the NFC South division crown and reached the NFC title game that year, falling to the Chicago Bears. But it was only the start of the greatest stretch run in franchise history.
Brees would spend the final 16 years of his career in New Orleans. He led them to nine playoff appearances, seven NFC South division crowns, three NFC Championship Game appearances and of course a franchise-defining Super Bowl 44 title.
Brees, by the way, won seven passing yards and led the league in completion percentage six times. He retired as the all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns in 2021, with Tom Brady surpassing those marks soon after.
Broke A Franchise: Albert Haynesworth To Washington
After earning back-to-back Pro Bowl and First-team All-Pro nods with the Tennessee Titans in 2007 and ‘08, Haynesworth set himself up for a career-changing payday in 2009 free agency.
Despite being offered more money by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — a state with no income tax by the way — Haynesworth decided to sign with Washington on a massive seven-year deal worth $100 million.
The signing was a giant failure from the get-go. Haynesworth had an attitude problem, failed multiple conditioning tests and openly called out the team’s defensive system. Oh, and he was just downright terrible on the field.
You may recall the infamous clip in a 2010 Monday night game against the Philadelphia Eagles when Haynesworth decided to take a rest during a live play as Michael Vick danced his way around the defense.
Washington finally got rid of the Haynesworth headache by trading him to New England in the 2011 offseason, but even the legendary Bill Belichick couldn’t save him. Haynesworth split 2011 with the Patriots and Bucs but was then out of football altogether by 2012.
The Haynesworth signing destroyed team morale in Washington. Before his arrival, the club had made the postseason in two of the previous four years. It was just one of many giant personnel moves the team made in the Dan Snyder era.
Saved A Franchise: Peyton Manning To Denver Broncos
You may recall that seemingly half the team was in on the Peyton Manning sweepstakes back in 2012 following his release from the Indianapolis Colts.
Seattle. Denver. Miami. Tennessee. Arizona. Washington. San Francisco. They all wanted Manning.
Well, the Broncos wound up the lucky winners by signing Manning to a five-year contract worth $96 million. Just when many thought “The Sheriff” was done after missing all of 2011 with a neck injury, Manning came back as good as ever.
He led the Broncos to four straight AFC West division titles and two AFC Championships wins in 2013 and 2015. In the former year, Manning broke Tom Brady’s single-season records for passing TDS and passing yards with 55 and 5,477, respectively.
Those Broncos also finished with 606 points for the most-ever in a season. Though they were crushed by the Seahawks in Super Bowl 48, Manning and company redeemed themselves by winning Super Bowl 50 in the Sheriff’s swan song year.
Before Manning’s arrival, Denver had just two playoff victories and a pair of division titles in the 21st century. By the time he left, they now had four additional division banners, two AFC championship banners and a third Lombardi Trophy to celebrate.
Broke A Franchise: Nnamdi Asomugha To Philadelphia Eagles
When Asomugha decided to leave the helpless Oakland Raiders franchise and enter free agency in 2011, many immediately put together a dream scenario of him joining the New York Jets and joining forces with Darrelle Revis.
In fact, Asomugha revealed late in the 2011 season that he was actually “really close” to signing with the Jets. But as everyone knows now, he wound up signing a four-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles worth $60 million.
Asomugha’s career went into immediate decline after joining the Eagles, who failed to live up to the self-applied “Dream Team” label. Meanwhile, the Jets also fell apart after back-to-back AFC title game appearances and wound up trading Revis to Tampa Bay in the 2013 offseason.
So now we ask this: What if Asomugha just signed with the Jets and gave Rex Ryan’s squad arguably the greatest cornerback ever? Folks, this could have been Legion of Boom-caliber stuff.
Instead, Asomugha went from a Hall of Fame trajectory to one of the worst free-agent signings ever. The Eagles imploded after the so-called “dream team” thing, and it started with the awful Asomugha contract that set them back for Andy Reid’s final two years at the helm.
Saved A Franchise: Charles Woodson To Green Bay Packers
The Packers limped to a 4-and-12 finish in 2005, marking the franchise’s worst season in the glorious Brett Favre era.
That was inexcusable enough for GM Ted Thompson, who made a rare big splash in free agency by signing ex-Oakland Raiders star cornerback Charles Woodson to a seven-year deal worth $52.7 million.
Woodson changed everything for the Packers, who would re-emerge as a Super Bowl contender following his arrival. The Pack got to the NFC Championship Game in 2007, Favre’s last year in Titletown.
The ball-hawking specialist single-handedly turned the Packers’ defense into one of football’s best, and it was his efforts that got them back on top with a Super Bowl 45 championship in the 2010 season.
Green Bay wasn’t getting anywhere close to championship glory during Favre’s final years with the club. Once Woodson arrived, they became an NFC powerhouse and walked away with a Super Bowl championship.
Like we said, franchise-changing folks!
Broke A Franchise: Brock Osweiler To Houston Texans
The Texans won the AFC South in 2015 with a 9-and-7 record, despite using four different quarterbacks.
Their primary starter that year was journeyman and career backup Brian Hoyer, so that was clear evidence that Houston was one QB upgrade away from emerging as a Super Bowl contender in the AFC.
The Texans signed Brock Osweiler to a four-year deal worth $72 million. They were sold on him being a franchise QB after he started seven games for the Super Bowl-winning Broncos while Peyton Manning was injured.
Osweiler was downright horrible in Houston, completing 59 percent of pass attempts for 2,957 yards, 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Texans won the AFC South thanks to their defense again, but they were crushed by the Patriots in the Divisional Round.
Houston was so desperate to get rid of Osweiler that they traded him, along with 2017 sixth and 2018 second-round picks, to the Cleveland Browns for a fourth-round pick.
The Browns would turn that 2018 second-round pick into future superstar running back Nick Chubb, by the way. And though Houston traded up for future Pro Bowl QB Deshaun Watson via Cleveland in 2017, it still cost them two firsts — including the No. 4 pick in 2018 which meant passing on the likes of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Not that it was Watson’s fault, but the Texans failed to build a proper Super Bowl contender around him. They won just one postseason game in Watson’s four years as the Texans’ starting QB.
So when you trace it all back, signing Osweiler basically set the Texans back for almost a decade. If they actually got a good QB in the 2016 offseason, maybe that team would have gone further with that elite defense, Lamar Miller and DeAndre Hopkins? Osweiler single-handedly ruined a team that was otherwise close to contending for a Super Bowl.
Saved A Franchise: Tom Brady To Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady’s souring relationship with head coach Bill Belichick prompted the GOAT to test free agency for the first time in his career in 2020.
After fielding several offers, Brady chose to join the Bucs on a two-year deal worth $50 million in fully guaranteed money. Before Brady’s arrival, Tampa hadn’t made the postseason since 2007, and they hadn’t won a playoff game since their Super Bowl 37 victory 18 years earlier.
Well, the GOAT came perfectly as advertised for this long-suffering Bucs team. He kept fighting off father time with an MVP-like season in Tampa, leading them to a wild card berth with an 11-5 record.
The Bucs danced through Washington, Drew Brees’ Saints, Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers and Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl 55. The Bucs became the first team ever to play in AND WIN a Super Bowl on their own turf.
Brady broke the Bucs’ single-season passing yards and passing TDs record in 2021 and led the Bucs to their first NFC South division crown in 2021. His efforts also helped them just-barely win a second straight division title in his swan song 2022 season despite an 8-and-9 finish.
Three years of Brady. Three playoff berths. Two division titles. 14,643 passing yards and 108 touchdowns. Highlighted by a Super Bowl 55 ring.
Franchise-saving free agent signing, ladies and gentlemen.
Broke A Franchise: Jeff Garcia To Cleveland Browns
Garcia was a three-time Pro Bowl QB with the San Francisco 49ers, and he wound up turning his success on the West Coast into a four-year, $25 million deal with the Browns.
Believing the Browns had fixed their problems, they passed on Ben Roethlisberger with the No. 6 pick in the 2004 Draft. Heck, they could have even tried to trade up for Eli Manning or Philip Rivers.
Instead, the Browns got 10 starts out of Garcia: Three wins, seven losses, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was released just one year into the contract, and the Browns still haven’t exactly solved their QB conundrum two decades later.
What if they never signed Garcia and drafted Eli, Big Ben or Rivers? Oh, what could have been!
Saved A Franchise: Reggie White To Green Bay Packers
More than a decade before the Packers hit a home run with the Charles Woodson pickup, they made the greatest non-QB free agent signing ever: Reggie White for $17 million over four years back in 1993.
White was the first major signing in the NFL free agency era, and he was worth every penny and then some for the Packers. Before White’s arrival, the Packers had made the postseason once between 1973 and 1992 — and that was 11 years earlier in 1982.
The Packers emerged as an NFC heavyweight with White and Brett Favre leading the way. They never once missed the playoffs with “The Ministry of Defense” at the helm.
Green Bay went to consecutive Super Bowls in 1996 and ‘97, winning Super Bowl 31 over the Patriots. As a Packer, White won 1998 Defensive Player of the Year honors and made the Pro Bowl every year. He racked up 68.5 sacks in six years with the Cheeseheads, restoring the championship foundation in title down after the worst two-decade stretch in franchise history.
Broke A Franchise: Le’Veon Bell To New York Jets
After sitting out the entire 2018 season due to a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell signed a four-year deal with the New York Jets worth $52.5 million.
It was a bad business move on Bell’s end. He was offered $70 million over five years from Pittsburgh but still rejected it…for the sake of resting up to take less money with the Jets anyway.
Bell’s signing was another chapter in the Jets’ never-ending clown show. New head coach Adam Gase was furious about GM Mike Maccagnan giving Bell that much money, and it led to a tense relationship between the two. Gase wound up winning the power struggle, with the Jets firing Maccagnan after the 2019 draft.
Bell had a horrible first year with the Jets, averaging 3.2 yards per carry while finishing with a career-low three rushing touchdowns.
After getting off to another slow start in 2020, Bell was released by the Jets in October. The ex-Steelers star had clashed far too much with Gase to the point where New York couldn’t take it anymore.
Bell’s career was never the same after signing with the Jets. Gase was fired after the 2020 season. New York used the No. 2 pick of 2021 on future all-time draft bust Zach Wilson, further sending the franchise into more and more turmoil.
Yeah, the Jets got their BELL rung here by signing Le’Veon. The move was just one of many that continued to sink this franchise.
