The Worst Undrafted Free-Agent Signing for Every NFL Roster

Signing undrafted free agents is a necessary process that helps to complete NFL rosters beading into training camp. However, all decisions regarding these players are not made equally.

Obviously, none of these players are expected to become Hall of Famers, but some are being given great opportunities to find success if they can manage it.

Choosing the worst free-agent signing is not an effort in wishing ill on any of these players or trying to discredit their collegiate careers at all. In some instances it is just a wrong place, wrong time scenario for a player, or it could be that the team simply is not in need of depth at that position. Still others are identified as too risky of a proposition based on their character or history.

Everybody wants to see these players do well, but the sad truth is that many will not last for a variety of different reasons. Here are some players that might have tougher roads than others.

Arizona Cardinals

Conrad Obi, DE, Colorado

Obi had a decent senior season at Colorado, but the scary thing is what kind of program he came from in the Rocky Mountains.

A regime change from Dan Hawkins to Jon Embree did not bred immediate success and sadly Obi is coming from a program that has done a lot of losing due to a lack of discipline, passion and consistency recently.

Perhaps Obi can transcend his background in Arizona. 

Atlanta Falcons

Dominique Davis, QB, East Carolina

Davis is a player whose numbers dropped from 2010 to 2011 and that is what cost him a draft position. A quarterback who takes a step back is a risky choice, not to mention the Falcons are fairly set at quarterback with Matt Ryan and Chris Redman on the roster.

Baltimore Ravens

Lamont Bryant, TE, Morgan St.

The Ravens have two very good tight ends in Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson, and in light of the injuries and age catching up with the defense, the Ravens might have wanted to use more roster spaces for auditions to step onto that side of the field.

Buffalo Bills

Shawn Powell, P, Florida St.

Seems like an interesting use of a roster spot to audition a punter. Punters are usually players that can be brought in on an as-needed basis. 

Does Brian Moorman really need competition in camp?

Carolina Panthers

Tauren Poole, RB, Tennessee

The Panthers are not in dire need of a running backs, and the chances of Tauren Poole performing as well as the last undrafted Vols running back (Arian Foster) are not likely. 

Carolina needs defense, and a lot of it.

Chicago Bears

Alvester Alexander, RB, Wyoming

If bringing in one big-name free-agent running back made Matt Forte feel slighted, why add to the insult by bringing in another undrafted free agent.

The Bears should have used another roster spot to continue to find great receivers. 

Cincinnati Bengals

Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona St.

This is a player that is equally likely to show up on a "Best Undrafted Free-Agent Signings" list depending on how he ends up playing.

Still, for a player who had first-round talent to fall this far, the risk of problems he poses is warranted until he proves otherwise.

Cleveland Browns

William Green, DE, Florida

The Florida Gators were not a defensive powerhouse and the Browns might be stretching on a player who could wind up being about as effective as Jarvis Moss early in his career.

Dallas Cowboys

Darrell Scott, RB, South Florida

Scott was a highly touted recruit out of high school, but he fell out of favor in Colorado and decided to leave.

Many big schools were scared away from taking Scott, and he did not realize his full ability in South Florida. 

Denver Broncos

Anthony Miller, TE, California

The Broncos were rumored to be interested in tight end Coby Fleener, which would have made sense as he may have actually been an upgrade to anyone currently on the roster.

However, bringing an UFA to a position that already had two free agents added and two returning players seems like overkill.

Detroit Lions

Tyler Shoemaker, WR, Boise St.

For a team with an immensely talented stable of wide receivers already, does it seem odd that the team went out and brought in a wide receiver from Boise St.?

If the explanation is that they wanted to make Kellen Moore comfortable, that seems like a big benefit for an UFA, considering the same treatment was done for Andrew Luck.

Green Bay Packers

Darius Reynolds, WR, Iowa St.

Reynolds had a nice yards-per-catch average in 2011, but he only grabbed 43 balls and had fewer than 100 for his career at Iowa St.

Does Green Bay really need another long-ball, home run hitter auditioning for a part?

Houston Texans

Dwight Jones, WR, North Carolina

Jones may be talented, but with the limited amount of fame he acquired at North Carolina he made some poor choices in how he chose to use his image.

Being an NFL player opens up the opportunity for more potentially bad choices to be made, which could be a distraction for the Texans.

Indianapolis Colts

Brian Stahovich, P, San Diego St.

Here is another team using up valuable roster space on a position that shouldn't be a top concern for a team with as many problems as Indy.

This roster is almost a page one rewrite, but should Chuck Pagano and Ryan Grigson really be bothering Pat McAfee with a training camp companion?

Jacksonville Jaguars

Nelson Rosario, WR, UCLA

Rosario was impressive in his last season with the Bruins, but when the time came to shine in his All-Star game he failed to impress.

Rosario has some great physical ability, but he cannot survive in the NFL going from highlight-reel catch to highlight-reel catch.

Kansas City Chiefs

Matt Szymanski, K, SMU

The Chiefs just paid their kicker, Ryan Succop, and are still bringing in a kicker to training camp.

Unless they are trying to give Succop a break during camp, what's the point? Just keep the player on speed dial, and if Succop gets hurt then you can give him a call.

Miami Dolphins

Terence Brown, C, BYU

With Mike Pouncey playing center on your team, the position is solidified for a few years to come. Brown might be a decent player, but if his only skill set is limited to center, that's not a versatile enough lineman to be looking at in training camp.

Minnesota Vikings

Terrell Resonno, DT, Missouri

Resonno is coming off a quad injury, which is a tough injury for an interior defensive lineman to recover from. A strong base is such an important part of the equation in the trenches, and the Vikings might be disappointed if Resonno is not 100 percent healthy. 

New England Patriots

Marcus Forston, DT, Miami

Injuries and off-field troubles marred the career of Forston at Miami. Bill Belichick seems to like projects and finding untapped potential in players, but Forston's knee injury could prove to be vexing for both the player and the organization.

New Orleans Saints

Jake Byrne, TE, Wisconsin

With a player like Jimmy Graham on the roster at tight end, why not use roster spots for position battles that could actually be competitive?

Byrne may be a great kid and a great talent, but he will have a hard time shining in this offense. 

New York Giants

James Suozzo, QB, Merrimack

With three other quarterbacks on the roster already, and the certainty that both starter and backup are not being challenged for their spots, why add another?

The Giants don't need depth at quarterback to stay competitive. Based on last year's injuries problems, more tight ends might have been a better choice.

New York Jets

G.J. Kinne, QB, Tulsa

Another team in New York with a glut of quarterbacks it doesn't need. 

Even if Tim Tebow was not brought in to actually play the position of QB, the Jets still have former Crimson Tide star, Greg McElroy, so why add Kinne?

Oakland Raiders

Marquette King, P, Fort Valley St.

The Raiders need to let Shane Lechler punt for them until his leg falls off, and there is no need to bring in another kicker on a roster that Dennis Allen needs to strengthen in order to compete in the AFC West.

Philadelphia Eagles

Chris Polk, RB, Washington

There is always a reason that a player falls out of the draft, and something put Polk into that scenario.

This is another situation like Vontaze Burfict, where Polk could become a huge steal, but there is also a lot of risk involved as well.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Marquis Maze, WR, Alabama

Despite some highlight-reel-worthy plays, Maze wasn't a big producer in college and lacks the size to be a game-breaking receiver in the NFL.

He is smaller than all the receivers on the roster, and it and may be hard for the massive Ben Roethlisberger to locate him on the field.

San Diego Chargers

Taylor Embree, WR, UCLA

It's possible that Embree just had a temporary lapse in judgment when he got into a brawl against the Arizona Wildcats last season.

Still, as the son of a major collegiate football coach who also has NFL coaching experience, one has to wonder just how much he didn't listen to his father to not learn more restraint than that.

San Francisco 49ers

Jewel Hampton, RB, Southern Illinois

It would seem that with the addition of Brandon Jacobs via free agency and LaMichael James in the draft to back up players like Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter, who are already there, that the Niners are set in the backfield.

Is it fair to a kid like Hampton to sign with a team where he will be lucky to stick on the practice roster?

Seattle Seahawks

Deshawn Shead, DB, Portland St.

The Seahawks have one of the most exciting young defensive backfields in the NFL right now with Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner and Earl Thomas.

Adding more bodies in the back may not have been as effective as adding players to the linebacking corps or the trenches on either side of the ball.

St. Louis Rams

Todd Anderson, FB, Michigan St.

No knock on Anderson, but if the Rams are trying out offensive players they had better be at the wide receiver position. 

Sam Bradford is completely on an island alone when he drops back to pass, and even though adding a fullback that may be able to protect him sounds nice, having an open wide receiver can help protect him just as well.

Tennessee Titans

Nick Stephens, QB, Tarleton St.

Rusty Smith may have been bad in his spot starting duty a few years ago, but he has NFL experience and is just fine sitting behind Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker.

What exactly is expected of Stephens as a rookie coming into camp?

Washington Redskins

Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia

The Redskins didn't have to go far to get looks at Minnifield while playing at Virginia, but his injury concerns are not as clear a picture.

When talented players fall out of draft favor, it usually signals very serious injury concerns and right now Minnifield cannot dispel the rumors that he is healing slower than he would like.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Eric LeGrand, DT, Rutgers

Instead of ending on a negative note, I took the Buccaneers out of order to end on a positive note. Tampa Bay deserves credit for making the most meaningful and classy move of the offseason.

Former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano took an opportunity to say thank you to the place that helped he get where he is today and also to a player that has given inspiration to many.

LeGrand will never play a down for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he is officially the most successful undrafted free-agent signing of the offseason no matter what happens.