NFL Offseason: 10 Ugliest Incidents so Far

The NFL offseason is always interesting to watch.  There are both the good sides, such as Peyton getting a second chance with the Denver Broncos, as well as the bad sides.

The ugly stories are the ones that tend to stand out.

The bounty scandal with the Saints, for example, was a hugely publicized, ugly event that could easily change the team for the next several years.

There have been several other ugly incidents so far this off season, all impacting players and teams in different ways.

These top 10 stories have been in the news, as well as on the Internet, spanning from March to June.

Comment and share your top 10 ugliest stories of the off season so far.

10. Cowboys and Redskins Have Salary-Cap Issues

We start off this list with an incident that happened back in March.

The Cowboys and the Redskins will be losing a combined $46 million in salary-cap space over the next two years. The Redskins will lose more, $36 million, while the Cowboys will have to worry about $10 million.

The league is letting the two teams decide how they will split up the losses in 2012 and 2013.

While the Cowboys and the Redskins lost money, 28 other teams would gain $1.6 million in salary cap space.

So why did the NFL decide to punish the Cowboys and the Redskins?  Apparently both teams front-loaded contracts in the 2010 season.

Recently both teams tried to appeal the NFL's punishment and were dismissed.

How this salary cap space will effect either team is still to be seen. It could affect the Redskins a lot more than the Cowboys in the years to come.

While we won’t know the full effects until the next two seasons, it's always ugly for any team to lose salary cap space.

9. McNabb Rips Coach

It's hard to go into any situation and hope to be the QB that can turn a team around.  McNabb clearly wasn't the guy for the Redskins back in 2010.

However, McNabb also clearly feels RG3 won’t be the guy the need either.

McNabb feels he wasn't used right in Washington and that RG3 won’t be used right either.

McNabb ripped into how the Redskins coached, saying how egos can get in the way.  He also believes that if RG3 doesn't make a Cam Newton splash, he could be in trouble.

It has to be hard for Robert Griffin III to go into a situation like the Redskins and have to worry about learning a new offense, let alone listen as a veteran QB say that the Redskins won’t use him the right way.

It's hard to say if the Redskins used McNabb the wrong way, or if in fact his bashing was simply out of the fact that he was bitter.  Did the Vikings use McNabb the wrong way too?  Maybe McNabb was too stuck in his ways to change what he needed to work on. 

It's pretty ugly when a QB who gets cut from the Redskins as well as the Vikings decides to talk about one of his former coaches and his ego problems.

8. Blackmon Arrested

Justin Blackmon first got in trouble with a DUI back in 2010.  He was underage and had alcohol in the car.  He said he wasn't drinking but was charged with a DUI anyway.

Fast forward to this year, and Blackmon has managed to get himself another DUI, this time in a much different situation.

After pulled Blackmon over around 3 A.M. on June 4, the officer smelled alcohol on the rookie wide receiver.  Blackmon would agree to a breathalyzer test and was found to be three times over the legal limit.

This DUI could end up getting Blackmon suspended, something that could really hurt the Jacksonville Jaguars.  They of course drafted Blackmon to help out their offense, one of the worst in the league.

It's also bad for Blackmon himself.  Now that he has his second DUI in two years, he is definitely going to be watched closely.

He has pleaded not guilty to his charge, but now that Blackmon has the attention of Roger Goodell, what will happen to him when the season starts?

7. Fairley in Trouble...Again

Nick Fairley first got in trouble back in April.  He was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge when people complained about him speeding through a neighborhood.

That clearly wasn't enough for Fairley to learn his lesson.

He would again be arrested at the end of May on charges of driving under the influence and attempting to elude police.

He was also cited for an open container, no proof of insurance and reckless driving.

Fairley and his apparent problems are ugly for two reasons:

The Detroit Lions have yet to release whatever punishment they think is fitting for Fairley.  It needs to be firm and fair, but at the same time it will ultimately hurt the Lions.  Fairley is a big part of the Lions defensive line, and if he ends up getting suspended, it could hurt the Lions in the beginning of the season.

The other reason why this story is an ugly one is because Fairley is still relatively young.  At only 24 years old, Fairley has a lot of football left ahead of him.  Clearly he is having some problems in his personal life and needs to get himself under control before he ruins any future he plans to have in the NFL.

For Fairley and the Detroit Lions, his actions outside of the league are really ugly.

6.Vilma Sues League

After the whole bounty scandal, Johnathan Vilma ended up receiving the harshest punishment, being suspended the whole 2012 season.

Now Vilma is suing the league and Roger Goodell for defamation of character.

Vilma wants to see what evidence Goodell has against him in the bounty scandal and says Goodell won't show him.

However, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello stated that Vilma and his attorney were asked to discuss the evidence the league had before any decision was made on how to discipline Vilma, but Vilma declined.  He was also given the opportunity to see the evidence during the appeal.

The defamation part of this lawsuit comes from the fact that Vilma's attorney says the league is making it hard for Vilma to play in the league, with this bounty scandal hanging over his head and by publicly punishing Vilma.

Vilma now denies that there was even a bounty program in place.

Is Vilma trying to simply avoid the truth?  Does the league really have evidence against him?

Whichever way you stand on how innocent or guilty Vilma is, this story will only get uglier.

5.Colts Pick Luck over Manning

Peyton Manning had been a staple of the Indianapolis Colts for years.  He easily made that team the contender that it was, and when he was out for a year, that became clear as the team went from 10-6 in 2010 with Manning to 2-14 in 2011 without Manning.

Of course, by now you know that Manning missed the 2011 season with a neck injury.  The injury would lead Colts owner Jim Irsay to decide to let Manning go.

He would let go the man who helped make the Colts what they were.

Of course, football is a business, and the Colts clearly didn't want to pay $28 million to a injured Manning, but the Colts seemed more willing to take a risk on a rookie first-round draft pick than on hoping that Peyton would recover enough from his injury to be the dominant QB that we all know him for.

The Colts picking Luck over Manning, and letting go the QB that made such a impact on their team, is a pretty ugly situation.

It could also come back to haunt them if Manning returns to 100 percent as the Broncos QB and if Luck struggles more than people think he will.

4. The Bears and Matt Forte

Whether you believe Forte deserves the money he is asking about from the Bears or not, there is no doubt that this contract negotiation has gotten pretty ugly.

When it became clear that Forte was going to hold out, the Bears went and signed free agent running back Michael Bush.  Bush could have been signed as backup for Forte, in case the Bears did re-negotiate a contract with Forte.  Or perhaps Bush was signed to replace Forte, in case he did not return.  In any case, Forte was not happy, tweeting:

"

There's only so many times a man that has done everything he's been asked to do can be disrespected! Guess the GOOD GUYS do finish last....

"

If that wasn't enough, talk of the Bears possibly not giving into Forte's contract demands comes from the fact that Forte might have issues with his knees.  Forte would respond by posting a seven-second video of himself running with a 100 lb sled, up a hill.  What does this video really show about how durable Forte's knees are?  Sadly, not that much.

Does Matt Forte deserve the amount of money that he wants?  That is something that should be left up to debate.  Forte is a big part of the Bears' offense, and without him the Bears will undoubtedly feel the impact.

Regardless of whether Forte is as good as he thinks he is, though, this situation between the Bears and Forte keeps getting uglier.

3. Suggs Tears Achilles

When the news came out that Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles, you could almost hear all the Ravens fans weep in unison.

And why wouldn't they?  T-Sizzle is a defensive beast and a massive part of that dominant Ravens' defense.

Tearing the Achilles muscle takes months to recover from.  Suggs could essentially miss the majority of the entire 2012 season.

Who will the Ravens use to replace Suggs when the season starts?  Who could even come close to replacing the defensive player of the year?

While Suggs does plan on coming back earlier than people are predicting, he runs a huge risk of re-injuring himself if he comes back too early. 

Even if Suggs does heal, earlier like he expects, or within 11 months as predicted, how much will this injury impact him?  Will Suggs be able to come back and still be as mobile as he was prior to getting injured?  Suggs' explosive power plays a huge role in his dominant defensive skills.  If he can't be as explosive as he was, what then?

For one of the league’s top linebackers and one of the Ravens' top defensive players to get a major injury like this is quite an ugly situation.

2. Drew Brees' Contract

The Saints are a mess, plain and simple.  With everything that is going on with the bounty scandal, you would think the Saints would do whatever it takes to get their top player, who has arguably been the glue to hold that team together, to OTAs.

The Drew Brees contract is a pretty ugly issue.

It's ugly for several ways:

Drew Brees set records last season and led the league in several stats such as touchdowns, yards and completion percentage.

He is clearly on the same caliber as Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.

Not only is he a top QB, but after everything he has done for the city of New Orleans, it's hard to imagine why the Saints are so hesitant to pay Brees what he is asking for.

Has Brees had shoulder problems?  Yes, he has, but with all that is going on with the Saints, don't you think they should try to get back the one man who could help unite that team as it is clearly falling apart?

The Saints are blowing their one chance to salvage anything that they have left going into 2012.

Holding out on giving Brees the contract he deserves will only hurt the Saints in the end.

1. BountyGate

Definitely the ugliest incident of the offseason so far.  It could easily end up being the ugliest story of the NFL year.

The Saints' bounty scandal, as described in the full NFL statement, brought to light how defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and several players of the Saints' defense would pool together their money and place bounties on the opposing team's players.  They were getting money to purposely hurt other players.

It was a messy situation that would see Gregg Williams suspended indefinitely from the NFL, head coach Sean Payton suspended for the 2012 season and several players suspended. 

Jonathan Vilma would be suspended for the 2012 season, Anthony Hargrove (now on the Packers) would be suspended eight games, Will Smith would be suspended four games and Scott Fujita (now on the Browns) would be suspended for three games.

The Saints would also be fined $500,000 and would have their second-round draft picks taken away for 2012 and 2013.

What makes the Saints' bounty scandal such an ugly story is how it upset a team that arguably many football fans could get behind.  The Saints were a team that helped bring back a city struck by disaster.

Now how will fans across the NFL view the Saints?

It also brought more attention to what may go on behind the scenes for several teams.  Could other teams also have had some type of bounty scandal?  Who knows, but with that happened to the Saints clearly sent out a warning to any other teams who may have been doing the same thing.