Is Richie Incognito Really Worth All the Trouble?

Apparently, when new Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan spoke during his introductory press conference in January of his desire to "build a bully" with the Bills, he wasn't being metaphorical. Because now, Ryan and the Bills have hired the NFL's most infamous bully. 

With the team announcing over the weekend that it has agreed in principle with controversial veteran guard Richie Incognito, the football world is again left to ponder that familiar risk/reward debate. But because this is an industry with so many unpredictable variables, there's no formula we can use to definitively conclude whether the risk outweighs the potential reward or vice versa. 

Do Incognito's skills outweigh the potential damage he could cause as a man who has historically been a nuisance within NCAA and NFL dressing rooms, as well as the negative publicity his signing will inevitably bring to Buffalo? 

Let's break it down. 

Track record off the field

This isn't the first time a team has taken a chance on a player who has a tarnished reputation due to poor behavior off the field.

You may recall that this very same Bills team signed the troubled Terrell Owens only six years ago. That same year, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick out of prison. Adam Jones is still gainfully employed, and Santonio Holmes keeps getting opportunities. 

Year in and year out in this league, a double standard is perpetuated as troubled dudes continue to be embraced by desperate and/or hopeful franchises who wouldn't touch them with 10-foot poles if they were fighting for roster spots. 

Incognito is an interesting case, though, because he was the face of a bullying scandal that truly rocked the NFL in 2013. Since then, the league's been further disgraced by an embarrassing spate of domestic violence incidents involving some of its highest-profile players, which probably hasn't helped his cause. 

And yet, while we all wonder what the future holds for Pro Bowl-caliber pariahs Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy, Incognito is back despite a laundry list of past transgressions. 

See, this isn't about a "second chance," as was the case when the Eagles gave an opportunity to Vick. Incognito's closet possesses more skeletons than just the bullying scandal. Of course, considering the findings released by independent investigator Ted Wells, that alone should be enough for us to wonder whether Incognito deserves another shot in the NFL.

A key excerpt from Wells' report: 

"

We find that [an] Assistant Trainer repeatedly was targeted with racial slurs and other racially derogatory language. Player A frequently was subjected to homophobic name-calling and improper physical touching. Martin was taunted on a persistent basis with sexually explicit remarks about his sister and his mother and at times ridiculed with racial insults and other offensive comments.

"

But those weren't isolated incidents. 

• Multiple reports from 2013 indicated Incognito was accused of sexually harassing a woman with a golf club during a team-sponsored charity event the previous spring. From Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald: 

"

According to a Dolphins source, Incognito paid in the ballpark of $30,000 to quietly settle a case with the woman whom he was accused of sexually harassing and molesting (with a golf club) at a 2012 team charity event.

As ESPN's Adam Schefter has noted, Incognito was summoned to the league office before the 2012 season to discuss two off-field incidents. One was the golf event and the other involved misbehavior that was the result of drinking, according to a Dolphins source not authorized to give other details.

"

• Elizabeth Merrill details for ESPN.com that Incognito spat on an opponent and was ejected for picking a fight in two separate games as a freshman at Nebraska in 2002. 

• The next year, he was suspended by then-Nebraska head coach Frank Solich for unspecified reasons. 

• In 2004, he was charged with three counts of assault stemming from a fight at a party. Later that year, he was found guilty on misdemeanor assault charges. 

• In the fall of '04, he was suspended for repeated violations of team rules, causing him to transfer to Oregon. 

• But he lasted one week in Eugene before then-Ducks coach Mike Bellotti released him from the school's football program. According to the Associated Press, Bellotti claimed the release came because certain conditions of Incognito's signing were not met. 

• In a poll conducted by Sporting News in 2009, Incognito—then a member of the St. Louis Rams—was voted the dirtiest player in the NFL. 

• That same year, he was released by the St. Louis Rams two days after drawing two personal foul penalties and arguing with then-St. Louis head coach Steve Spagnuolo during a game against the Tennessee Titans. 

You'd think Incognito would be smart enough to avoid becoming a distraction at this point in his career. The bullying scandal got him suspended for the second half of the 2013 season and kept him out of football in 2014, so he certainly knows that, at 31, this is his last chance. 

But you'd have thought he'd have learned his lesson long ago, which has me wondering if a man who has received treatment for anger management and has spent time in a psychiatric care facility can help himself. 

Conor Orr of the Newark Star-Ledger notes that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed confidence in Incognito after he was reinstated last offseason, but there's a reason why nobody would bite. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs all reportedly expressed varying degrees of interest, but nobody ultimately felt the risk and blowback were worth the possible reward. 

Until now, when the league's newest owner, Terry Pegula, fell into a familiar trap. In a statement released by the team, Pegula said:

"

I personally met with Richie, along with [general manager] Doug Whaley, Rex Ryan and [wife] Kim regarding an opportunity to earn a spot on the Buffalo Bills roster. Obviously, we all discussed Richie's past experience in the NCAA and NFL. We are convinced that Richie is prepared to move forward and has and will continue to take the necessary steps to improve himself as a person and a teammate. Following discussion with the rest of the coaching staff, we as an organization will provide him with the opportunity to do so.

"

But as my colleague Mike Freeman points out, this isn't a second or third chance. At some point, you've got to wonder if Incognito is just finding new folks to fool. In this case, he may have tricked a capricious head coach into convincing an impressionable new owner into signing a headcase as a twisted way to christen their working relationship. 

For a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs this century, that's a bad omen. Former Eagles and Cleveland Browns executive Joe Banner gets that sense: 

Compared to track record on the field

Incognito is a nine-year veteran with 102 starts under his belt. He was a Pro Bowler in 2012 and had a top-15 grade from Pro Football Focus at the guard position before the Miami Dolphins suspended him in 2013. 

Year	Grade	Rank
2013	7.2	9th out of 72
2012	9.4	23rd out of 81
2011	4.9	33rd out of 78
2010	12.9	16th out of 82
2009	6.8	45th out of 84
2008	8.2	33rd out of 74

That, as well as the fact that his style of play meshes well with what Ryan likes to see from his teams in the trenches, explains why the coach made him a "high priority target," per Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.

But it's fair to wonder whether Incognito possesses the ability to stay disciplined and maintain self-control off the field and between downs while continuing to possess the live-action mean streak that made him the star player he was with the Dolphins. 

If Incognito is no longer the same monster off the field, can he still be a monster on it? In other words, is this a catch-22? What happens if you take the fight out of the dog but leave the dog in the fight? 

In the past, Incognito was one of the feistiest maulers in this league. And when he was able to harness his energy and passion in order to avoid taking costly penalties, he was also one of the most unique players in the NFL. When he found that ideal balance in 2012, he was a Pro Bowler, and he usually had it together in 2010 and 2011, too (a few incidents notwithstanding). 

That's why you could envision him being a good teammate—the guy you want on your side in a battle. And that's probably what Ryan saw when his former team, the New York Jets, faced Miami. 

In fact, when the Dolphins played Ryan's Jets in Week 8 in 2012, Incognito had arguably his best game of a Pro Bowl season. He posted a season-high PFF grade of 5.2, allowed zero quarterback pressures and paved the way for a running game that had eight runs of five yards or more and two runs of 15-plus yards. 

Here, he'd pull right before facing off against Jets linebacker Demario Davis in front of running back Reggie Bush: 

NFL Game Pass

Looking like a short gain at best:

NFL Game Pass

Until Incognito runs Davis over with swagger: 

NFL Game Pass

Incognito was already graded by PFF as the Dolphins' best offensive player when Miami visited Ryan's Jets in Week 6 of the previous season (the Dolphins averaged a solid 4.7 yards per carry in a losing effort that night), meaning he was arguably the best player on the field the last two times Ryan watched him play at MetLife Stadium. 

The tape from those and many other matchups shows him to be a tough, physical guard who brings attitude to the trenches. That's why he was a special player, and it might be why Ryan believes he'll still have that in him. But even that most recent performance against the Jets was three years ago, and a lot has changed. 

Could they have obtained other players of similar caliber? 

That's really what this comes down to. There's no doubt that after starters Erik Pears and Kraig Urbik struggled in 2014, and with Pears an impending unrestricted free agent, Buffalo could use an upgrade at guard. That's the case with many teams, though, and nobody else was reported to be pursuing Incognito. 

That double standard is undeniable. Great players get away with more off-field shenanigans than good players, and good players get away with more off it than mediocre players. But considering all of the baggage we're looking at with Incognito, he'd probably have to be great in order to gain this opportunity. 

Is he great? He'll be 32 years old this season, and by the time training camp arrives he'll have played in just eight games in a 32-month span. He's got that one Pro Bowl on his resume but has never been an All-Pro and has never been graded by PFF as one of the top 10 players at his position. 

Based on the reports that surfaced last year about teams sniffing around, Incognito was probably going to get a shot at some point. But the timing of this move makes it particularly baffling. Free agency arrives in a month and the draft takes place in less than three months. Guard not being a premium position, plenty of potential upgrades could have been found in March, April and May, all at a reasonable cost. 

Instead, according to ESPN.com's Mike Rodak, they're paying $2.25 million to a 31-year-old with more baggage than a Southwest Airlines flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Buffalo. 

Joel Bitonio was the 35th overall pick in last year's draft. He started his entire rookie season for the Cleveland Browns and was graded by PFF as the fifth-best guard in football. He's making $1.4 million a year, or about 62 percent of Incognito's salary. 

Bitonio is the only one of PFF's five highest-rated guards who was drafted before the third round. 

Other rookie guards who made far less money than Incognito will earn (assuming he makes the final roster) and who performed admirably in 2014:

• Brandon Lindler, who was picked 93rd overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars but posted the 10th-best PFF grade in football while starting 15 games. 
• 83rd overall pick Gabe Jackson, who started 13 games at left guard for the Oakland Raiders. 
• 59th overall pick Jack Mewhort, who started 13 games at left guard for the Indianapolis Colts.
• 92nd overall pick Trai Turner, who started 13 games at right guard for the Carolina Panthers. 

Certainly, there are starting candidates just like those guys in this year's draft class. Plus there's free agency, which could offer up starting-caliber guards such as Orlando Franklin, Clint Boling, James Carpenter and Mike Iupati, who started 15 games at left guard last year for new Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman's former team, the San Francisco 49ers. 

This was a weird time to make a move that, if it were to come at all, was supposed to be made by a desperate team at a desperate juncture. But Ryan obviously has a thing for Incognito, and the Pegulas were obviously more malleable than Woody Johnson. 

From the Star-Ledger's Steve Politi:  

"

Rex Ryan never met a bad teammate he didn't think he could save. That was clear in his six years with the Jets, when he took over a locker room filled with high-character veterans and slowly began to add his own toxic mix.

This is how you not only end up with Santonio Holmes on your roster, but actually make him a captain. This is how you cut a player everyone respects like Jerricho Cotchery during training camp and end up with, in the words of former backup quarterback Greg McElroy, a locker room filled with "extremely selfish individuals."

"

What do Ryan and Incognito have in common? The Jets, the Dolphins and now the Bills. Which reminds me that it's no coincidence that the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots have won 11 of the last 12 AFC East titles. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon