10 Biggest Locker Room Cancers in NFL History

The NFL is a melting pot of some of the most talented albeit erratic, personalities in professional sports. Some of these unique personalities are fueled by the excessive platform the media gives them, while others are simply stuck in their ways.

Who qualifies as a locker room cancer is hard to describe. A player in trouble with the law isn’t necessarily cancerous to his locker room—unless said run-in with the law impacts his playing time and teammates.

What is easily cancerous to locker rooms is public criticism of fellow teammates and coaches, sitting out practices for a new contract, fighting teammates in practices and quitting on the team while the game is on the line.

Of course, these problematic personalities aren’t rampant around the league. There are a few that can easily be identified, while some are a little less notorious. Regardless of being well-known for their antics or not, these players have had a negative impact wherever they have gone.

Here’s a list of the 10 biggest locker room cancers in NFL history.

Terrell Owens

Surprise! There isn’t much to be said about T.O. that hasn’t been said multiple times already. He’s a cancer, plain and simple.

Owens has thrown a plethora of quarterbacks under the bus publicly, including Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo. Publicly insulting the quarterback isn’t a good way to get any balls thrown in Owens’ direction, but he continued to do so anyway.

In Philadelphia, Owens got himself suspended indefinitely before being released for criticizing Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb. He reportedly did the same in Dallas a few years later by complaining about the amount of balls being thrown his way.

There’s also the time Owens spit on DeAngelo Hall’s face, which he had to publicly apologize for.

It’s hard not to be entertained by Owens, but he’s bad news in NFL locker rooms. His antics on and off the field create a visible divide that fractures a team until his departure.

Albert Haynesworth

Albert Haynesworth is one of the dirtiest players to step on a football field in quite some time. His questionable, late hits are now notorious, and his interview questions have fractured more than a few locker rooms to date.

In 2006 Haynesworth stomped on the helmet-less head of Andre Gurode, who had to receive 30 stitches. Haynesworth was promptly suspended five game without pay.

After signing a seven-year, $100 million deal with the Washington Redskins, Haynesworth publicly blasted his defensive coordinator Greg Blache, blaming Blache’s schemes for Haynesworth’s mediocre play.

So not only does Haynesworth publicly call out his coaches, he tries to legitimately cause harm to opposing players. Combined with his horrible work ethic, Haynesworth is known around the league as one of the biggest cancers a locker room could have.

Randy Moss

Randy Moss has been one of the most polarizing figures in the sporting world for quite some time. Despite being one of the greatest receivers to play the game, Moss hasn’t exactly been a model teammate.

Moss has publicly admitted to marijuana use while playing in the NFL, which won’t win him many fans. There’s also the incident of him walking off the field prematurely with his team down late in the game.

Oh, and of course there is the now infamous “mooning incident” in which Moss scored a touchdown and pretended to moon the fans in the crowd.

Moss has a perception around the league that he lacks effort in games, and players and coaches have publicly called him out for it:

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"Randy was a great receiver, but he lacked the work ethic and the desire to cultivate any skills that would compensate for what he was losing physically later in his career.

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A player with elite talent but no effort is a major detriment to any locker room.

Vince Young

Vince Young was a winning quarterback for the Tennessee Titans for a few years, and a fan favorite during that time span. Young’s popularity, production and even sanity began to come into question as his career started to unravel.

In 2008 Young was injured and threw two interceptions against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Young was booed by the fans, and later that night Young disappeared. The disappearance event turned into a big media event, bringing unwanted attention to Young’s family and teammates.

In 2010 Head Coach Jeff Fisher didn’t allow Young to re-enter a game after injuring his thumb, so Young threw his shoulder pads in the crowd, got in an altercation with Fisher after the game and left the facility. It was the last time Young would start for the Titans.

Young’s immaturity was a massive detriment for the Titans, especially at a position that is supposed to be the unquestioned leader of a football team. Young may never grow up, which means he’ll always be a cancer to NFL teams.

Brandon Marshall

Brandon Marshall is another example of a player with elite talent that just can’t keep it together off the field. Marshall has an inordinate amount of run-ins with the law, and a few strange off-field incidents to boot.

To name a few (and there’s a lot), Marshall has been convicted of DUI, accused of domestic violence, accused of disorderly conduct, stabbed by his wife and has fallen through a television set which severely injured his arm.

Most recently Marshall has been accused of hitting a woman in the face, which was part of the reason the Miami Dolphins decided to trade him to the Chicago Bears.

It has recently been revealed that Marshall suffers from borderline personality disorder, which would explain some of his antics. With that being said, Marshall is one of the best when on the field, but more often than not he is a cancer because of his tumultuous life off the field.

Adam “Pacman” Jones

It’s hard to imagine now that at one point Adam “Pacman” Jones was one of the better cornerbacks in the entire NFL. It’s not hard to imagine that his list run-ins with the law is quite possibly the longest in all of professional sports.

Jones was somewhat involved in a 2007 Las Vegas shooting which, combined with failing to meet substance abuse requirements, led Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend him for an entire year. He’s had other issues with the law, including allegedly smacking a woman in an Atlanta strip club.

Jones’ absences from his teams because of off the field issues, which include the entirety of the 2007 season and a portion of the 2008 season, are a huge detriment. He’s recently cleaned up his act with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he’ll continue to be remembered by most for his off-field issues.

Chad Ochocinco

Chad Ochocinco is known for the hilarity that ensues after he scores a touchdown and promptly celebrates. He’s a trash-talking, fun personality for the fans but that doesn’t mean a locker room isn’t impacted by his antics.

Ochocinco has been criticized for focusing more on his entertainment career than his football career, and those criticisms have to have an impact on the locker room. He’s publicly complained about the amount of passes thrown his way, there’s also the rumor he took swings at the Bengals’ coaching staff during halftime of a playoff game.

Chad’s focus on entertainment hasn’t negatively impacted his football skills—he was one of, if not the best, during his prime. However, his antics and attitude have never helped a football team in any way.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith is a great receiver, and always has been. He’s been great to the fans in Carolina, and he’s been even better to his quarterbacks. There wouldn’t be any blemishes to speak of in terms Smith’s career if he hadn’t punched out a teammate.

Twice.

In 2002 Smith punched out fellow Carolina Panther Anthony Bright in a film session, damaging his face. The two settled the altercation outside of court. Smith was also suspended one game.

In 2008 Smith seriously hurt Ken Lucas by punching him in the face on the sidelines of a practice. Smith was suspended two games.

While Smith’s contributions on the field are huge, it’s hard to imagine he’s the most popular player in the locker room with his tendency to punch out his own teammates.

Brett Favre

Brett Favre is a surefire Hall of Famer. That doesn’t mean he’s been the best teammate over the years.

When Favre wasn’t winning a Super Bowl, throwing for over 70,000 career yards or owning the consecutive starts streak at 297 games, Favre was dragging fans and teammates alike through a ridiculous retirement process.

Not only did Favre have a ridiculous bout with retirement each offseason starting in 2006, he went on to join the Minnesota Vikings despite having played the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers.

Favre’s indecision not only angers teammates, it handicapped the teams waiting on potentially landing his services. He’s an NFL cancer. A cancer the league might not be cured of just yet.

Santonio Holmes

Santonio Holmes has been the perfect example of what not to do on and off the field if you are an NFL superstar.

Holmes won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the team wouldn’t keep him because he kept running into trouble with the law, including alleged domestic violence, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana.

Holmes was traded to the New York Jets where he’s had some issues as well. Incidents include cutting a woman in the face after throwing a glass at her and telling a fan to “kill urself” on Twitter (Holmes has went on to say his account was hacked).

It’s also hard to forget Holmes’ lack of effort in last year’s finale against the Miami Dolphins. Holmes gave up, and teammates publicly let him know about it. He was supposed to be a captain of the team, and he quit on his teammates.

Holmes is the worst kind of locker room cancer that exists.

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