The 2023 season isn’t even halfway done yet, but we can already tell that there are a few free agent busts that will never play up to their contract. Every single year, teams spend the offseason throwing money at players to try and improve their roster and compete for a Super Bowl. While most signings help out in some way, shape, or form, the following five players are simply not justifying their massive raises.
The 5 Biggest Free Agent Busts of 2023
Tremaine Edmunds
The Chicago Bears were the biggest spenders of the offseason, as they spent countless dollars trying to improve the worst roster in the NFL. So far, most of those investments have failed to provide a meaningful return, and Tremaine Edmunds is the biggest name of all the free agent busts After a strong career playing second fiddle to Matt Milano in Buffalo, the Bears decided to see what he could do as the top linebacker in the defense. So far, the results aren’t promising. The linebacker currently has a 52.5 PFF grade, good for 68th out of 81 eligible players. Considering Tremaine Edmunds signed a $72 million contract, this is a terrible return on investment.
Juju Smith-Schuster
The New England Patriots had one of the worst offenses in football last year and tried to fix the issue by effectively replacing Jakobi Meyers with Juju Smith-Schuster. That has not worked out. Smith-Schuster looks like a shell of his former self, living his life with a defender on his hip and lacking any of the YAC ability he demonstrated in Pittsburgh and Kansas City. Through five games, Smith-Schuster has recorded 14 receptions for 84 yards. By comparison, Jakobi Meyers recorded nine receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns in his first game with the Raiders.
The Patriots’ offense is shockingly bad. Even if you had the lowest expectations heading into the season, it would have been impossible to predict Rhamondre Stevenson averaging 2.8 yards per carry and JuJu Smith-Schuster averaging 6.1 yards per catch five weeks through the season
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 9, 2023
Miles Sanders
The Carolina Panthers entered free agency needing to replace the departed Christian McCaffrey. Nobody expected Miles Sanders to completely replicate McCaffrey’s production, but they expected more than this. Sanders is averaging a paltry 3.1 yards per carry and 3.4 yards per target while slowly losing work to Chuba Hubbard. Sanders’ poor performance alone makes him one of the biggest free agent busts, but it’s even worse when you consider the team could’ve retained D’Onta Foreman for a fraction of the cost.
Orlando Brown
Orlando Brown had one of the loudest contract standoffs in the league last year. After a relatively disappointing 2022, the Chiefs decided to part ways with Brown and replace him with Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith. The Bengals, meanwhile, gambled on 2022 being an outlier. So far, Cincinnati has lost that gamble, as the free agent bust’s 59.9 PFF grade ranks 43rd out of 72 eligible players. He’s not an active liability by any means, but he’s a below-average starter getting paid like a superstar.
Odell Beckham
Everybody outside of Baltimore agreed that the Ravens overpaid for Odell Beckham’s services. The big-name wideout missed the entirety of the 2022 season with a knee injury but still found a way to secure a one-year, $18 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. Based on his current play, it’s safe to say he won’t hit those $3 million in incentives. Zay Flowers has completely leapfrogged Beckham on the depth chart, and the veteran has only recorded seven receptions for 79 yards on the season. Fortunately for the Ravens, this is only a one-year deal, so Beckham’s contract won’t have long-lasting implications on their salary cap.
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