2012 NFL Free Agents: Red Alert for Free Agency's Riskiest Players

With a number of high-profile players likely to hit free agency once the new league year starts in March, it's now time to start speculating who will be re-signed by their current teams, and who will be allowed to walk.

Free agency is a great time for teams to fill roster holes with established veterans, but one wrong move could cost a team large sums of money and bring only headaches to the locker room.

In the following slides, I examine four players likely heading to the free agent market with serious red flags swirling around them.

RB Peyton Hillis, Cleveland Browns

Currently, Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and it's looking less and less likely that the Browns will be making him the kind of offer he's been searching for this year.

Angling for a major contract since the summer, Hillis hasn't done much to advance his cause on the field this season.

He had an impressive 2010 in which he racked up 1,654 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns, but he wasn't able to follow it up this year, with injuries and distractions keeping his numbers well below that mark.

It's not surprising that Hillis had just 587 rushing yards, 130 receiving yards and just three touchdowns, considering he missed six full games with various injuries and illnesses.

However, the fact that he did so while openly complaining about the Browns' seeming disinterest in paying him what he believed he was worth before the season began—and then ended the year believing that the so-called "Madden Curse" was to blame for his injuries and issues—is a sign that he's neither mature nor focused enough to live up to the potential he displayed in 2010.

If his Browns teammates had to stage an intervention of sorts to plead with Hillis to get his mind right earlier this season, then whatever team that chooses to sign and pay the free agent needs to be aware of just what kind of player they are bringing into the locker room.

Hillis' skills, whatever they may be at this point, might not be enough to make up for his poor attitude and selfishness.

ILB Bart Scott, New York Jets

Linebacker Bart Scott—he who can't wait—will have to wait a few months to ultimately find out if the New York Jets are willing to extend his contract, or whether they will allow him to test the free agent market.

At 31 years old and with declining production, Scott's a risk for any team looking to improve its pass rush, considering he hasn't really done so in his time in New York.

In terms of sacks, 2011 has been the second-best year of his career, with him logging 4.5 of them. However, his tackles have fallen steadily, from 92 combined in 2009 to 81 last year, to just 66 this season.

Scott's built a reputation in the last two years of being more of a loudmouth than a fearsome defender, most recently flipping off a photographer while the team cleaned out their lockers at season's end—an act that may draw a fine from the league.

While Scott isn't technically a free agent—he has three years remaining on his contract and $4.2 million guaranteed to him in 2012—the Jets aren't likely to keep him around unless he's willing to restructure his contract, and Scott isn't likely to budge.

That means Scott is out the door and looking for his next big payday. Teams should be wary of giving him one, however; with his subpar on-field performance and his poor attitude, he's not worth the money or the hassle.

WR DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles

If the Philadelphia Eagles choose to part ways with free agent wide receiver DeSean Jackson, whichever team wants him must be willing to pay him a great deal of money, and have a highly talented quarterback willing to target him heavily, if he's to be happy.

Those demands are the hallmark of the diva receiver—a type of player on its way out of the NFL, with the advent of much more specialized receiving corps and the rise of the elite, multifunctional tight end.

While teams still have a need for a dedicated, big-play wideout, Jackson carries with him a number of red flags that should make coaches and general managers think twice before offering him a lucrative, multi-year contract.

Jackson had excellent seasons in both 2009 and 2010, and though his 2011 year wasn't so bad with him just 39 yards shy of another 1,000 yard receiving season, he scored just four touchdowns as the Eagles' overall passing offense struggled throughout the year.

But that's not the biggest issue affecting Jackson's free agency value. He's prone to shutting down completely if he feels the passes aren't coming his way, and has been benched twice for playing poorly, dropping passes and running the wrong routes.

Only teams willing to coddle Jackson and make him a focal point of their offense will benefit the most from his services. Others are only destined to see the petulant, pouty Jackson that has reared its head a number of times in 2011.

QB Matt Flynn, Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn has been generating free agency buzz all season, but it's reached a fever pitch now that he put up the single-greatest passing performance in the history of Packers football in Week 17.

In the team's win over the Detroit Lions, Flynn completed 31 of his 44 passes for 480 yards, six touchdowns and a lone interception. With a number of teams in desperate need of a starting quarterback in 2012, Flynn is atop the list of free agent passers in 2012.

However, one just has to look back one year to see how this frenzy over Flynn may end up harming his future team.

Kevin Kolb, the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles before losing the job to Michael Vick, generated a ton of interest after it was clear the Eagles would be sticking with Vick in the long term.

Kolb ultimately went to the Arizona Cardinals in a trade, with the Eagles not willing to part with him without getting value in return.

The Eagles received cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromarie and a second round 2012 draft pick, and the Cardinals got a middling, injury-plagued passer who, when healthy, has still managed to be outperformed by backup John Skelton.

The Cardinals are now saddled with Kolb for at least a few years, inking him to a five-year, $64 million contract that includes $21 million in guaranteed money.

Flynn, a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft, at least has time behind quarterback Aaron Rodgers under his belt and a legitimately big game to end the season that has skyrocketed his value, with some justification.

However, teams should be wary of Flynn's ability to recreate that kind of success elsewhere. While it's a gamble that could pay off, it's a gamble nonetheless.

Interested teams should temper their expectations rather than regarding Flynn as the next Rodgers, Tom Brady or Drew Brees.