Free agency is a time for unbridled optimism among all 32 NFL fanbases. With every single team looking to improve their roster in one way or another, the open market provides a quick way for teams to address some of their most glaring needs. However, not every move is going to work out. There is a reason each and every player to reach the market was not retained by their original team in the first place. While that reason can often boil down to money, sometimes, the player is just not as good as outside perception believes. While anything could happen over the life of these new contracts, these five free agent signings look like the worst of the 2024 offseason.
5 Worst Free Agent Signings of 2024, Ranked
5. Chase Young to Saints
Chase Young signed a one-year contract worth up to $13 million. At the time of the signing, league insiders believed that to be a fully guaranteed deal. If that were true, this would be much higher up on the list of the worst free agent signings. In reality, $7.99 million of the contract comes through in-game bonuses, so the Saints have protected themselves to an extent.
New Saints pass rusher Chase Young's one-year, $13 million contract includes $7.99 million in per-game roster bonuses, per source.
Base: $2.7M
Signing bonus: $1.86M
Workout bonus: $450k
Per-game roster bonuses: $7.99M— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 20, 2024
However, there are no performance-based incentives here. If Young stays healthy, he’ll earn every last cent of that $13 million. This is a dangerous contract to give to a player who has a long history of effort issues. So, while it’s not as bad as originally reported, it’s still one of the worst free agent signings out there.
4. Kevin Byard to Bears
Did the Chicago Bears forget that it’s 2024? At his best, Kevin Byard was an elite safety and easily deserved his two First-Team All-Pro selections. However, now entering his age-31 season, the former Titan is starting to slow down. After acquiring him for just two late-round picks, Byard struggled during his half-season with the Philadelphia Eagles. The team released him, demonstrating that they did not think he could improve. Despite all this, the Bears still thought he was worth a two-year, $15 million contract. Maybe he finds the Fountain of Youth in Chicago, but right now, this is looking like one of the worst free agent signings of the offseason.
3. Josh Jacobs to Packers
Josh Jacobs was phenomenal in 2022. However, he was objectively bad by just about every metric in 2023. Running backs don’t get better as they get older, especially ones that already have over 1,300 professional carries to their name. The Josh Jacobs contract was one of the worst free agent signings by itself, but it’s even worse when you remember this deal forced the Packers to eat some dead money and release an arguably better running back in Aaron Jones.
2. D’Andre Swift to Bears
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. Last year at this point, the Carolina Panthers signed 1,000-yard running back Miles Sanders to a big-money contract. Time proved that the former second-round pick was purely a product of Philadelphia’s dominant offensive line, as Sanders was unquestionably the worst free agent signing of the 2023 offseason. Now, the Bears have made the same mistake with D’Andre Swift. While Swift is a little bit better than Sanders, he’s not going to come close to justifying this contract. Honestly, there’s a chance Roschon Johnson beats him out by Week 8.
1. Gabriel Davis to Jaguars
The 2023 Buffalo Bills had a problem at wide receiver in large part because the team put too much faith in Gabriel Davis. Nobody is saying Davis doesn’t belong in the NFL – the past four years have proven that the former fourth-round pick can handle life as a complementary receiver. However, he’s never going to be anything more than that. The wideout spent the past two seasons as a starting receiver for an elite quarterback in Josh Allen. If he couldn’t put up a 900-yard season in that environment, then why would he improve with the Jacksonville Jaguars? Now earning up to $50 million over the next three years, Gabriel Davis is easily the worst free agent signing of the offseason.
Main Photo: Jamie Germano – USA Today Sports
