2012 NFL Free Agent Predictions: 4 Teams That Will Swing and Miss in Free Agency

NFL teams rarely hit a home run when taking a big swing at free agency.

The teams that find success in the league usually build their franchise through the draft process, bringing in only a handful of key free agents over the years. 

Rarely do you see a team buy success.

Let's take a look at the teams who'll discover what it means to have buyers' remorse by the time 2012 is said and done.

Arizona Cardinals

After striking out in their pursuit to land Peyton Manning, the Arizona Cardinals haven't done anything to improve themselves in free agency.

The biggest move they've made so far was to sign former San Francisco 49ers offensive guard Adam Snyder to a five-year, $17.5 million contract. As a 49ers fan, I can tell you that Snyder is versatile and valuable to have as a backup, but he's terrible in pass protection and will be absolutely destroyed if he has to play next to Levi Brown on the right side of the line.

Speaking of Brown, they did the right thing by cutting Brown and his massive salary, but then they did the wrong thing by re-signing Brown and bringing him back (even though they did save a ton of money in the process).

Brown and Snyder playing together will be like a huge, flashing neon sign for opposing defenses that reads, "abuse us!"

Washington Redskins

A stunner, I know.

The Washington Redskins are perennially one of the worst teams in the NFL when it comes to the free-agency signing period, and this year is no different.

They gave Pierre Garcon a five-year, $42.5 million contract with $20 million guaranteed. 

They then gave Joshua Morgan a two-year, $12 million contract with over $7 million guaranteed.

Neither are No. 1 receivers.

Essentially, they are paying $14 million per season for two No. 2 receivers, at best.

Neither one will be able to draw consistent double-teams. Neither one will threaten the safeties to the point of distraction. They're both good route-runners with reliable hands, but neither one will be the game-breaker Robert Griffin III needs.

The Redskins did make a couple of decent signings, though, snagging cornerback Cedric Griffin on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. They also signed safety Brandon Meriweather to a two-year, $6 million contract. Both will help to shore up their weak secondary.

After mortgaging their future drafts to acquire RG3, I'm not impressed with what the Redskins have done to build around him. 

We'll see soon enough whether I'm right or not.

Miami Dolphins

Nobody wants to play for the Miami Dolphins. 

Ryan Clark said it out loud, and now, everyone is starting to come around to the sad truth.

Jeff Ireland has developed a bad reputation for making terrible personnel decisions. He didn't do himself any favors to reverse that perception with his performance so far in 2012.

While I will give him credit for hanging on to Paul Soliai and for bringing in Steve Slaton to complement Reggie Bush in the running game, Ireland has also made one decision in particular that I can't stop scratching my head about.

He brought in David Garrard to compete for the starting quarterback position after missing out on Peyton Manning and then Alex Smith.

Hardly inspiring.

Garrard won't inspire any confidence within the locker room, and I don't expect to see anything good come from the hire.

Back to the drawing board.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The only reason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on this list is because of the massive deal they gave to Vincent Jackson.

The Bucs handed Jackson a five-year, $55.5 million contract with $26 million in guaranteed cash.

Jackson's speciality with the San Diego Chargers was his ability to vertically challenge opposing defenses due to his ability to beat single coverage when the ball is in the air.

There's just one big problem with that: Josh Freeman is no Philip Rivers.

After striking out last year due to a lack of spending on the open market, the Bucs have overreacted by spending too liberally in 2012—a move that will doom them to spend another postseason watching at home.

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