Trading away a star player is one thing. But just flat-out cutting a proven stud who has made a
difference for so many years is one of the most puzzling things that an NFL general manager
can do…
And, yet, it’s happened oh so often.
Here are 10 of the dumbest player cuts in NFL history — ones that teams wound up regretting
for a lonnnnng, long time.
Johnny Unitas (Pittsburgh Steelers, 1995)
The Steelers drafted Unitas in the ninth round — 102nd overall — in 1955. Unfortunately, the Louisville signal-caller never got a chance in Steel City, as head coach Walt Kiesling memorably cut Unitas before he even took a snap.
Baltimore Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank saw something in Unitas and signed him in 1956, forever changing the landscape of football. In year two, he led the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and earned the first of 10 career Pro Bowl nods.
Unitas became the most accomplished QB of all-time before Joe Montana arrived. He won three NFL championships with the Colts and helped them to a Super Bowl 5 title as well. He wound up earning 10 Pro Bowl nods and took home three NFL MVP awards in his Hall of Fame career.
As for the Steelers? At least they eventually got Terry Bradshaw…
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Rod Woodson (San Francisco 49ers, 1998)
The Hall of Fame cornerback and safety spent his first 10 seasons with the Steelers, which spanned from 1987 to ‘96. In 1997, this highly sought-after free agent wound up agreeing to a multi-year deal with the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers in free agency.
Despite another productive year and helping San Fran to the NFC Championship Game, Woodson was cut ahead of 1998 free agency in a cap-saving move. The Baltimore Ravens signed Woodson in free agency, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Woodson retained his All-Pro level of play as a Raven and played a vital role in helping the 2000 Ray Lewis-led squad win Super Bowl 35. Woodson led the NFL in interceptions in 1999, and he repeated the feat once more as a member of the Oakland Raiders in 2002. He remained a game-changer until his 2003 swan song year.
The 49ers truly screwed up by cutting Woodson in the midst of his prime, and who knows if his presence coulda helped them win another Super Bowl or two before their dynasty officially ended.
Rodney Harrison (San Diego Chargers, 2003)
Harrison was one of the NFL’s most feared players during his playing career. The hard-hitting 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety always lowered the boom but also had a knack for making game-changing plays. He was just someone teams never wanted on the other side with the game on the line.
The San Diego Chargers apparently forgot that memo when they released Harrison in 2003, even though he was just a year removed from a Pro Bowl nod.
Bill Belichick stunned everyone when he cut another well-respected safety in Lawyer Milloy, but it turns out that he had good reason for doing so — as Belichick saw that Harrison was available, and still had plenty left to give.
Harrison was another key contributor to the Patriots’ 2000s dynasty that won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 2003 and ‘04 seasons. He brought more toughness and leadership to an already stacked Patriots’ defense, as if this team wasn’t already difficult enough to begin with.
Harrison also helped the Patriots go 16-and-0 in 2007 en route to a Super Bowl 42 appearance, but their perfect season ended at the hands of the underdog New York Giants. Don’t let Harrison’s involvement in the David-Tyree-helmet catch take away from everything else he brought to the Pats all those years after the Chargers gave up on him.
Jimmy Smith (Dallas Cowboys, 1994)
The Dallas Cowboys drafted the Jackson State wideout in the second round back in 1992. Smith was used primarily on the special teams unit in his rookie year, and the Cowboys went on to win their first of three Super Bowls in the ‘90s by soundly defeating the Buffalo Bills in the big game.
Smith had to miss the entire 1993 season after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Dallas went on to win a second straight Super Bowl, but they didn’t want to keep Smith around for their quest to three-peat. He was let go by Dallas a couple of months before the start of the 1994 season.
The Philadelphia Eagles later signed Smith, but he was let go before playing a game for them. The expansion Jacksonville Jaguars franchise gave Smith a tryout in 1995, and the rest is history.
Smith went on to become one of the NFL’s top receivers in the second half of the ‘90s. He earned five straight Pro Bowl nods from 1997 to 2001 and helped Jacksonville to AFC Championship Game appearances in 1996 and ‘99.
Incredibly, Smith racked up 1,000-yard seasons in nine of his 11 years as a Jaguar. Yep, the Cowboys could have used a guy like that to complement Hall of Famer Michael Irvin!
Keenan McCardell (Washington, 1992)
Washington drafted the UNLV wide receiver in the 12th round — 326th overall – in 1991. Though he never played a snap for Joe Gibbs’ squad, McCardell earned a Super Bowl ring as a member of the star-studded Washington club.
Washington never gave McCardell the opportunity to shine however, and he was let go in the 1992 offseason. The Cleveland Browns picked him up, but he also didn’t make much of an impact during his three years there.
The Jaguars signed McCardell in 1995 free agency and never looked back. McCardell and the aforementioned Jimmy Smith developed into stars during their tenure in Duval County. In ‘96, his first as a Jaguar, McCardell broke out with 85 receptions for 1,129 yards, and he helped the club to an unexpected AFC title game appearance.
A two-time Pro Bowler, McCardell posted five 1,000-yard seasons and won a second Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in 2002. He and Smith both crossed the career 800-catch, 10K yards receiving milestones. And to think both of these guys were given up on so quickly, only to flourish on an expansion Jacksonville squad.
Never give up on your dreams, kids.
DeMarcus Ware (Dallas Cowboys, 2014)
2013 was another disappointing year for the Dallas Cowboys, who lost a win-or-go-home Week 17 game with the NFC East division crown on the line for the third straight year.
Dallas was undone by an atrocious defense that allowed 27 points per game, prompting Jason Garrett to fire DC Monte Kiffin and replace him with Rod Marinelli. Another drastic change saw the Cowboys release franchise legend DeMarcus Ware.
The perennial Pro Bowl pass-rusher had just six sacks in 2013, and the Cowboys were convinced that the future Hall of Famer was done. So they released Ware ahead of his 32nd birthday — and he joined the Denver Broncos on a bargain three-year deal worth $30 million ahead of the 2014 season.
Turned out that Ware had plenty of good football left in him. He recorded 10 sacks in 2014 and earned his eighth career Pro Bowl nod. A year later, Ware and Von Miller fronted a ferocious Bronco defense that propelled the team to a Super Bowl 50 championship.
In Denver’s three playoff games, Ware had 3.5 sacks and a fumble recovery — putting the finishing touch on his legendary career.
Seeing that the Cowboys went home in the 2014 and 2016 NFC Divisional Round at the hands of Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers, one can only wonder if Ware could have been the difference-maker in those contests. Maybe Ware would have helped Dallas to a Super Bowl if they didn’t give up on him while he was still a beast.
Tyrann Mathieu (Arizona Cardinals, 2018)
The Honey Badger and superstar corner Patrick Peterson headlined a stingy Arizona defense together from 2013 to 2017. The dynamic duo led the Redbirds to the 2015 NFC Championship Game, where they fell to Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers.
After a disappointing 2017 season, the Cardinals began to retool their roster. Head coach Bruce Arians retired and was replaced by Steve Wilks. Quarterback Carson Palmer also called it quits, and the front office decided to release their stud safety after he refused to take a reduced salary.
Mathieu signed a one-year deal with the Houston Texans, reset his value with a stellar 2018 season then landed a lucrative three-year, $42 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mathieu turned out to be one of the final pieces needed for Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs, helping the team to a Super Bowl 54 championship plus another big game appearance the following season.
Mathieu remains one of football’s premier do-it-all defensive backs. Why the Cardinals cut him in the midst of his prime is beyond us, but it’s not surprising that they’ve been pretty irrelevant ever since that questionable decision in 2018.
Steve Smith Sr. (Carolina Panthers, 2014)
Longtime Carolina Panthers star wideout Steve Smith Sr. didn’t exactly have his best season in 2013. That year, he hauled in 64 receptions for 745 yards and four touchdowns.
Sure, it wasn’t his best season on paper, but Smith Sr. was still a valuable part of a Cam Newton-led offense that lacked elite receiving talent. Not to mention that the 2013 Panthers won 12 games and the NFC South division crown.
But the Panthers stunned many by releasing Smith in the offseason, which left a gaping hole at the wideout position. The Pro Bowl receiver wound up signing with the Baltimore Ravens, and boy did he ever make Carolina pay for their mistake.
Smith Sr. turned back the clock and hauled in 79 receptions for 1,065 yards and six touchdowns. He went off against his old team when they came to Baltimore in Week 4, racking up seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-10 blowout win.
Here’s the thing: Carolina went on to win the NFC South with a 7-8-and-1 record in 2014, though they were ousted by the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round. A year later, MVP Newton led the Panthers to a 15-and-1 record, but they fell to the Broncos 24-10.
You can’t help but wonder if a game-changer like Steve Smith could have helped the Panthers take home a Lombardi Trophy in one of those seasons? Who knows what difference he could have made in those games — especially Super Bowl 50. Tight end Greg Olsen was their only true pass-catching threat, after all.
Smith Sr. put up 799 yards in the 2016 campaign, his last in the NFL.
Ed McCaffrey (New York Giants, 1994)
The father of San Francisco 49ers’ superstar running back Christian McCaffrey, Ed was not a hyped-up prospect like his son. He was a third-round draft choice of the New York Giants back in 1991 at No. 83 overall.
McCaffrey didn’t produce a whole lot over his three seasons in the Meadowlands, however. In a limited role, he compiled 92 receptions for 1,091 yards and seven touchdowns during his time there.
George Seifert’s San Francisco 49ers picked up McCaffrey in 1994. Though he too saw limited playing time there, McCaffrey enjoyed a front row seat to the Steve Young-Jerry Rice show that led San Fran to a Super Bowl 29 championship.
In 1995, McCaffrey joined John Elway’s Denver Broncos. The former became Elway’s security blanket on a star-studded offense that also featured Hall of Famers Shannon Sharpe and Terrell Davis, plus another consistent 1,000-yard receiver in Rod Smith.
McCaffrey was a key cog of the Broncos’ back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams in the 1997 and ‘98 seasons. As a Bronco, he recorded a trio of 1,000-yard seasons.
What can we say? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Darrelle Revis (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2014)
Yep, 2014 was quite the year where teams gave up on a star veteran too early. DeMarcus Ware, Steve Smith Sr. AND Darrelle Revis. What a world.
Unable to reach an agreement on an extension with the New York Jets, Revis was traded to the Buccaneers in the 2013 offseason in exchange for the No. 13 selection of the draft plus a 2014 fourth-round pick.
The All-Pro corner was then handed a giant six-year contract extension worth $96 million, seemingly locking him in the Sunshine State for the remainder of his prime.
Revis earned the fifth Pro Bowl nod of his career in 2013, but the Bucs limped to an ugly 4-and-12 record. New GM Jason Licht (LIGHT) made sweeping changes and released Revis from his contract in the 2014 offseason.
Revis signed a one-year deal with the New England Patriots and continued his world-class play, leading them to a Super Bowl 49 championship. Revis had another elite year for the New York Jets in 2015, earning the seventh and final Pro Bowl nod of his Hall of Fame career.
Revis had several good years left in the tank. And the Bucs had just given up a first-rounder for him — which by the way turned into future Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. And the Bucs just gave up on him like that after one year?
Someone please make it make sense.Which player do you wish your favorite team never ended up cutting?
