NFL's Most Boneheaded Decisions of 2022 So Far
Every NFL season inevitably features regrettable decisions.
Some of these moves stand out more than others for the devastating costs they can inflict on a franchise’s ability to succeed not only during the current campaign but also well into the future.
That is no different in 2022, as we are barely past the midway point of the campaign and have already seen ill-advised decisions cost clubs a chance at becoming viable contenders and potentially even shutting their Super Bowl windows.
With that in mind, here are some of the most bone-headed moves of the 2022 season.
Carolina Panthers: Keeping Matt Rhule to Start the Season
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The Carolina Panthers mercifully put an end to the Matt Rhule era following the head coach’s 1-4 start in 2022. While the club wasn't considered a realistic contender coming into the campaign, it did itself no favors by hanging on to an inept coach following consecutive five-win seasons.
Rhule was once an intriguing hire because of his stellar work in the college ranks. He led Temple to a two 10-win campaigns in a row and finished his tenure at Baylor with an 11-3 season in 2019. But it rapidly became apparent that his methods wouldn't work at the professional level.
His time with the Panthers was marred by poor quarterback play and an inability to develop a quality starter. Veteran Teddy Bridgewater won just four games in 2020, leading the Panthers to give up some rather significant draft capital the following year to get Sam Darnold after he flamed out with the New York Jets.
Despite winning in his first three starts, Darnold proved to be yet another misstep for the organization. He would go on to lose five of the next six games before getting injured. He then returned late in the year and lost the three additional contests he appeared in.
Rather than find a way to draft a franchise quarterback, Rhule's Panthers kicked the tires on another veteran castoff in Baker Mayfield. The move unsurprisingly didn't pan out, as Mayfield flopped in Carolina and ultimately cost Rhule his job.
The Panthers are now stuck going through the motions during another lost season, this time with interim head coach Steve Wilks at the helm. They're being forced to turn back to Mayfield after he was benched for P.J. Walker, who sprained his ankle last weekend. Darnold was elevated to the No. 2 job.
Carolina also shipped off its biggest star in Christian McCaffrey in a desperate attempt to stockpile assets to assist in a full-blown rebuild. It's an unenviable situation to be in, one that could have been avoided had the team found a better coach earlier and made wiser personnel decisions.
Chicago Bears: Waiting Too Long To Unleash Justin Fields
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Despite paying an enormous cost to get their quarterback in the 2021 draft, the Chicago Bears took a painfully long time to let Justin Fields truly take control of the offense.
He earned valuable experience as a rookie after stepping in for an injured Andy Dalton but got off to a sluggish start to his sophomore season. Even with a head coaching change from Matt Nagy to Matt Eberflus, the first-year signal-caller was rarely tasked early on with more than the bare minimum to manage a game.
That has changed over the last five weeks. Fields has finally started to emerge as the star quarterback Chicago envisioned when utilizing the 11th overall pick on the Ohio State product.
Since the start of Week 6, Fields has completed 73 of 119 passes for 810 yards and nine touchdowns against three interceptions. He's been near-unstoppable when scrambling, tallying 555 yards and five scores on 62 totes.
Prior to Week 6, the 23-year-old had connected on a meager 49 of 88 passes for 679 yards and three touchdowns against four interceptions. He took off running 42 times but only gained 194 yards and scored once.
If Fields continues his current trajectory, he could finish 2022 with one of the greatest rushing performances ever by a quarterback. His passing abilities are also showing massive growth from earlier in his career.
While the young dual-threat quarterback is still prone to making mistakes, his brilliant runs and improving throws are now outweighing the turnovers and bad throws.
Unfortunately for fans in the Windy City, it looks too late for the 3-7 Bears to capitalize on Fields' play and make the postseason, but at least the team is set up for success in the coming years.
Denver Broncos: Going All-In for Russell Wilson with an Unproven Head Coach
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The Denver Broncos were one of the darlings of the offseason. The team made the splashiest transaction of the spring by giving up the farm to acquire Russell Wilson, but in retrospect, the move appears to have been a bit shortsighted.
It’s hard to fault Denver for being so desperate for a competent quarterback after it churned through a myriad of underwhelming starters across six consecutive playoff-less seasons following the retirement of Peyton Manning.
While the Broncos were able to get a perennial Pro Bowler in Wilson, the pairing of the veteran quarterback with a first-time head coach hasn’t worked out as planned.
Nathaniel Hackett was among the most desirable candidates after he served as the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator from 2019 through 2021. While his unit led the league in scoring in 2020 and boasted a back-to-back MVP in Aaron Rodgers, Hackett has had a difficult time translating the successes he found as a coordinator into his head coaching job.
Through 10 weeks, the Broncos are not only a concerning 3-6 and well out of the AFC West hunt but also have the league's most inept scoring offense. They are averaging a mere 14.6 points per game. That's a full point lower than the No. 31 Pittsburgh Steelers offense led by rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett.
It's now clear that this quarterback-coach pairing isn't working. Unfortunately for the Broncos, there isn't much help on the way after they sent away a slew of draft capital to acquire Wilson.
Denver did manage to recoup a first-round pick before the Nov. 1 trade deadline, but it came at the cost of giving up Bradley Chubb, one of the top players on a still-respectable defense.
It would be a surprise if Hackett isn't gone by the end of the season. With Wilson locked into a massive five-year, $245 million extension, the team will have little choice but to sack its coach and hope for better results with a fresh start in 2023.
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Green Bay Packers: Being Overly Confident in Aaron Rodgers
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Aaron Rodgers is a future Hall of Famer who has had one of the most memorable careers of any quarterback to play in the NFL. Despite his immeasurable talents, the Packers have found out the hard way that their back-to-back MVP still needs talented receivers.
While it's understandable that Green Bay declined to meet superstar wideout Davante Adams' costly asking price after coming to terms on a three-year extension with Rodgers worth over $150 million, the team raised some eyebrows when it opted to head into 2022 with a couple of unproven rookies and a few over-the-hill or flawed veterans as Rodgers’ projected top targets.
The team has struggled mightily without Adams, scoring just one touchdown in the season-opening loss to the division rival Minnesota Vikings and failing to eclipse the 30-point mark until Week 10.
Rodgers has little chance of three-peating as MVP after his yards per pass attempt dropped below 7.0. He averaged 8.2 and 7.7 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. And his seven interceptions have already almost matched the amount he threw over the last two years combined (nine).
The Packers endured their worst losing streak since Rodgers first took over as the starter in 2008, dropping five games in a row before getting off the schneid last Sunday.
That 31-28 overtime victory against the Dallas Cowboys coincided with a breakout game by rookie receiver Christian Watson. The Packers utilized the No. 34 overall pick on the 23-year-old, but Watson failed to establish an early rapport with his quarterback and dealt with various injuries to start his professional career.
In Week 10, Watson exploded for 107 yards and three touchdowns on four receptions after notching only 10 catches for 88 yards across his first six outings.
It remains to be seen if Watson will emerge as the elite wideout Green Bay has lacked since Adams' departure. Even if he does become a consistent scoring and big-play threat down the stretch, the development may be too late for the 4-6 Packers, and a costly lesson will be learned with the team's Super Bowl window soon closing.
Los Angeles Rams: Failing to Acquire Depth and Offensive Line Talent
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The Los Angeles Rams' dream of becoming the first repeat Super Bowl champions since the 2003-04 New England Patriots is all but dead.
After suffering a disheartening defeat yet again and losing another key piece in Week 10—Cooper Kupp (ankle), arguably the only consistent performer the team had on offense—the 3-6 Rams have a slim chance of turning things around in time to even make the playoffs, let alone make a deep run.
It's become brutally obvious that this squad lacks the refinement that last year's championship team had, especially when it comes to the offensive line and depth across the board.
Los Angeles was facing an uphill battle after stalwart left tackle Andrew Whitworth called it a career after winning his first ring. Former backup Joe Noteboom earned a big contract (three years, $40 million) to step in as his replacement but lasted just six weeks before going down with a torn Achilles.
The offensive trenches were further gutted at nearly every position, with a rash of injuries so bad that right tackle Rob Havenstein was the only projected starter from the preseason still standing at his original position from Weeks 2 to 7.
Los Angeles' pass protection has predictably gone downhill with this constant turnover. The offensive line came in dead last in Pro Football Focus' rankings ahead of Week 10, and quarterback Matthew Stafford has been battered because of these dreadful performances, taking 28 sacks (tied for fourth-most in the league).
The veteran signal-caller missed the last game with a concussion but struggled to replicate his 2021 successes prior to the injury. He’s completed 195 of 285 passes for 1,928 yards and eight touchdowns against eight interceptions in eight starts.
After eight games last year, Stafford had 2,477 yards and 22 touchdowns with only four interceptions and seven sacks taken.
Free-agent pickups like Allen Robinson II have had little impact (29 catches for 292 yards and two touchdowns), while the absences of Odell Beckham Jr. and Austin Corbett are being sorely felt.
With little in the way of draft capital or available finances, the Rams will have to not only work overtime this offseason to keep its core together but also find the depth needed to withstand the types of injuries they have dealt with in 2022.
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