NFL Free Agency 2011: 10 Players Who Were Horribly Overpaid

It's easy to look at the best free-agent deals without going into specifics. It's much harder to point out why a free-agent contract was good or bad. In this case, we are going deep to break down the 10 worst contracts from the 2011 NFL free-agent period.

What makes a contract bad? While the use of the word bad opens us up to subjection, we are looking at those contracts where the team, for whatever reason, overpaid.

Maybe a bad team had to raise the ante to keep an established or promising player in town. Or in some cases, a team on the decline might overpay for a player they think will either stop or delay the slide into mediocrity.

Which 10 contracts in the 2011 offseason wreak worst of overpaying? Take a look and see.

Author's note: Portions of this article cite material available under a premium account at Pro Football Focus. We thank PFF for their hard work and the amazing service they provide.

Eric Weddle, San Diego Chargers

New Contract: Five year, $40 million

Eric Weddle is a good safety, in fact Pro Football Focus ranked him as the third best safety in the NFL for the 2010 season.

So, you're wondering, why is Weddle considered overpaid?

Charger fans may want to argue this, but Weddle is the second highest paid safety in the NFL, behind only second-year player Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs.

According to those same PFF rankings, Weddle ranks No. 3 overall against the run and No. 22 against the pass. So, that ranking of No. 4 overall is deceiving.

Weddle is a good in the box safety, but San Diego is paying him like a pass coverage maven. For a player who produced just two interceptions and allowed a quarterback rating of 80 last year, Weddle shouldn't be making $8 million annually.

DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers

New Contract: Five years, $43 million

Giving a 28-year-old running back a $43 million contract over five years might seem crazy. That's because it is.

Williams not only missed 10 games during the 2010 season with injury, he was also not needed back in Carolina.

The Panthers have Jonathan Stewart and Mike Goodson, two very talented young running backs who are able to carry the load in Carolina without Williams stealing carries. The Panthers were able to rush for over 1,800 yards last season without Williams in the lineup for 10 games.

Given the chance, Stewart and Goodson could do just fine alone. And the Panthers could have spent $43 million upgrading their secondary.

Kevin Burnett, Miami Dolphins

New Contract: Four years, $21 million

The good men at Pro Football Focus (if you aren't reading this site, you need to be) ranked Kevin Burnett as the No. 20 best inside linebacker in football. Not what you would expect for a player making $21 million.

Burnett is expected to replace Channing Crowder, the No. 17 inside linebacker overall. I've said before that the Dolphins actually downgraded here, and the cold hard facts back that up.

Burnett may be a better locker room player than Crowder, but as a player, they are very even.

Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle Seahawks

New Contract: Two years, $8 million

To say that Tarvaris Jackson was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL last season would not be a stretch. In fact, of all quarterbacks graded at Pro Football Focus, Jackson ranked No. 50 overall.

There are 32 teams, 49 quarterbacks were better than Jackson. It does not take a math major to tell you that means Jackson is not good enough to even be the backup on half the teams in the NFL.

The Seahawks saw that amazing potential (sarcasm) and gave Jackson $4 million per year.

Brilliant.

Quincy Black, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

New Contract: Five years, $29 million

Quincy Black is a good linebacker. He's not $6 million annually good.

When looking at the other deals made this summer for outside linebackers both better and worse than Black, it would seem the Buccaneers simply overpaid to keep a hometown player in the same uniform for five more years.

The Buccaneers have a great young team, but their fear of losing a solid player, at a position that could be a weakness in 2011 without Barrett Ruud, forced them into a bad deal.

Chris Chester, Washington Redskins

New Contract: Five years, $20 million

Guards in the NFL are finally starting to make the money they deserve, especially in comparison to the money made by their friends at offensive tackle.

Chris Chester is a good example of the market for guards going up this year. He's also a good example of the Washington Redskins once again overpaying for average free agents.

Chester allowed five sacks, four quarterback hits and 12 quarterback pressures in just 14 regular season and two playoff games. That equals out to about one full season.

Chester is a good player, but he is not the anchor at offensive guard the Redskins need.

Jeromey Clary, San Diego Chargers

New Contract: Four years, $20 million

Paying a right tackle $5 million per year may not seem like a terrible deal, but when you consider that Clary gave up 49 total quarterback pressures/hits/sacks last year, the deal looks much worse.

Clary allowed eight sacks last year, but the Chargers jumped to re-sign him. The deal screams of fear, especially when you look at the $8.9 million the team will pay Clary in 2011.

San Diego's offensive line is on the verge of a major decline. Keeping Clary may prolong that, but he is the weak link on the Chargers' line.

Clint Session, Jacksonville Jaguars

New Contract: Five years, $30 million

Over the last two years, I've come to really like Clint Session as a blitzing outside linebacker. That being said, he is far from worth the $6 million per year the Jaguars overpaid for him.

Session is a hard hitter, but can he be a three-down player?

The Jaguars are unlikely to remove Paul Posluszny from the field, and Daryl Smith was the team's best defender in 2010. Where does Session fit on third downs? Does he become a situational pass-rusher?

No matter his role, Session was clearly overpaid to lure him away from Indianapolis.

Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

New Contract: Seven years, $53 million

Holy crap, that is a lot of money for a guard that was ranked as the third worst starter in the NFL over the last three years.

Joseph has lived off the name he made for himself early in his career, when he looked like a potentially dominant guard. Since then he has been below average, although commanding All-Pro pay and status.

Joseph gets credit for not giving up many sacks, but where he fails to produce is in the run game and in his pass blocking efficiency.

Sidney Rice, Seattle Seahawks

New Contract: Five years, $41 million

Had the Seattle Seahawks signed Sidney Rice to this deal last year, they would have been seen as geniuses. Doing the deal in 2011, after Rice missed the first 10 games of the season due to a hip injury, is as risky as it gets.

Rice can be a dominant, All-Pro level deep threat; but he can also be injury-prone.

There is also the issue of the quarterback situation in Seattle. Rice was never a great player with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback, and he will be in Seattle.