There are plenty of bad free agent signings every year in the NFL. Virtually every team falls victim to it annually because projecting exactly what a player will do with a new team and scheme is impossible -- there are too many factors involved.
One year ago, Kirk Cousins was in negotiations with the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons. In the end, rather than re-signing with the Vikings, he took the bigger deal to join the quarterback-needy Falcons.
Overall, it was a move that was widely praised, at the time. The Dirty Birds had plenty of offensive talent but needed that plug-and-play quarterback to put them over the top.
Unfortunately, due to a mid-season injury, the big signing quickly became one of the biggest disasters the NFL has ever seen. Cousins went weeks playing like the worst player at his position and was eventually benched for Michael Penix Jr.
Now, he and his team are in a tough situation that few teams have ever been in -- one with no correct answer. There is no two ways about it, this signing has been a financial disaster.
Falcons, Kirk Cousins contract already considered the worst in NFL history
Recently, there has been a flurry of terrible moves in the NFL. Chief among them are the trades that sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos and Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns (thank you Browns for saving us). Those two teams not only gave up picks and players but also handed them shiny new deals, and, in the case of the Browns, an enormous amount of guarantees.
However, those aren't considered free agent signings so we won't compare them to Cousins.
The $180-million quarterback is instead 'competing' against the likes of Albert Haynesworth, Kenny Golladay, Nick Foles, J.C. Jackson, Antonio Brown, Brock Osweiler, among others.
Albert Haynesworth has often been labeled as the worst free agent signing ever. Washington signed the defensive tackle to a seven-year, $100-million contract and all they got from him was laziness and criticism.
It is hard to compare him to Kirk because Kirk hasn't been a locker room issue and never took plays off.
Nevertheless, strictly comparing money and on-field production, Cousins 'bests' Haynesworth. Washington paid the defender $34 million over two years while Atlanta has paid the quarterback over $62 million for one year (assuming he is released or traded this offseason). That speaks for itself.
Other terrible contracts include the Giants paying Kenny Golladay over $40 million for 43 catches, the Texans signing Brock Osweiler to a $72-million deal only to pay the Browns a second-round pick to get rid of him, the Patriots paying Antonio Brown $9 million to catch four passes, and the Chargers paying J.C. Jackson $38 million to play seven games.
All in all, you can't compare apples-to-apples because of the inflation of NFL contracts but you can still certainly make the argument that the Atlanta Falcons made the worst free agent signing in NFL history in 2024.