5 Contracts NFL Teams Already Regret 2 Weeks Into 2026 Season

Less than a month into the 2026 NFL season, it's already becoming painfully apparent that several of the blockbuster contracts players agreed to during the latest free-agency signing period are going to be massive busts.

There are major red flags surrounding some of the league's highest-paid players who have now had bad games in back-to-back weeks. While sluggish Week 1 showings are to be expected and can be overcome, two consecutive poor performances are indicative of a trend. Teams now have cause to be genuinely concerned about the pricy investments they made into these disappointing players.

With that in mind, let's highlight five contracts that already look regrettable before Week 3 even kicks off.

Contract data courtesy of Spotrac.

QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Contract Extension: Three Years, $165 Million ($120 Million Guaranteed)

After a back-and-forth contractual saga played out throughout the bulk of the 2026 offseason, the stalemate between Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally ended with the quarterback signing the richest deal in franchise history.

When he inked a three-year, $165 million extension with $120 million in new guaranteed money, Mayfield not only became the league's third-highest paid quarterback, but set the bar extremely high for himself going into the 2026 season.

Despite being compensated as one of the NFL's best at his position, Mayfield hasn't played anywhere close to a top-five level through the first two weeks of the campaign.

While he's completing 71 percent of his throws, Mayfield is averaging a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt and has recorded just one touchdown pass. He's turned the ball over four times and taken seven sacks, a large reason why the Bucs are off to an 0-2 start and are already in real danger of missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Although Mayfield was initially a revelation for a Tampa franchise that looked lost in wake of Tom Brady's retirement after the 2022 campaign, he's dropped off noticeably since stringing together Pro Bowl campaigns in 2023-24.

Mayfield may have reached his zenith during his most recent Pro Bowl season, having posted career highs of 4,500 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns on a 71.4 percent completion percentage. His production dipped to a far more pedestrian 63.2 percent completion rate, 3,693 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns in 2025.

Given the poor start, Mayfield doesn't appear to be anywhere close to returning to his 2024 form and may never reach that peak again.

Although Mayfield is still a competent passer who could conceivably oversee an offense just good enough to reach the playoffs, he's not elevating the Bucs to a Super Bowl level. If he can't lock in and improve his numbers significantly while guiding Tampa to some desperately needed wins to close out September, the organization will rue its decision to re-up Mayfield at such a high price.

RB Travis Etienne Jr., New Orleans Saints

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Free-Agent Contract: Four Years, $48 Million ($28 Million Guaranteed)

It's become a risky endeavor to dole out a second contracts NFL running backs, with Travis Etienne Jr. becoming the latest star rusher to regress after inking a new deal in free agency.

Etienne, a first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2021 draft, earned a sizable contract from the New Orleans Saints in free agency after his bounce-back 2025 campaign. Etienne shook off injuries and poor play the season before to put up 1,399 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns from scrimmage.

While Etienne was an important piece of Jacksonville's offense during a resurgent 13-4 season, it was telling that the club didn't make a strong push to retain him. The decision to let the 27-year-old walk in free agency now looks to be a shrewd one, as Etienne has only put up 71 rushing yards on 17 totes and hasn't made a single trip to the end zone in 2026.

Etienne did do some heavy lifting as a pass-catcher in New Orleans' opener—securing seven of his nine targets for 32 yards—but was far less a factor in his squad's Week 2 win over the Baltimore Ravens. The veteran finished the game with a meager 31 yards from scrimmage on 10 touches.

To make matters worse, Alvin Kamara made his 2026 debut against Baltimore and cut into Etienne's workload significantly.

Although Kamara only mustered 15 yards on his nine totes and took his five catches for a meager seven yards, the fading 31-year-old logged 20 offensive snaps in the contest—a major reason why Etienne's snap count dropped from 53 in Week 1 to 37 this past weekend. Third-stringer CJ Donaldson has also been more involved than originally expected, getting on the field for 22.2 percent of New Orleans' offensive snaps over the first two weeks.

Considering Etienne is being paid as an upper-echelon running back, the Saints need far better returns in the coming weeks before this contract winds up being a significant albatross on their books.

WR Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

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Contract Extension: Four Years, $114 Million ($84 Million Gauranteed)

The Indianapolis Colts rewarded Alec Pierce with a huge contract extensions following the 2025 season as part of their push to keep the key pieces from last year's lineup together. The cash-strapped club elected to prioritize retaining the players who helped Indy jump out to a 7-1 start during the first half of the season, ignoring the fact that injuries ravaged the roster and led the Colts to finish outside the playoffs with an 8-9 record.

While a 47-catch, 1,003-receiving yard season proved that Pierce can work as a needle-moving, field-stretching wideout, a nagging heel injury has largely kept the 26-year-old from reaching his ceiling in the NFL.

Pierce first picked up the heel ailment late in 2024 and it continued to bother him throughout the 2025 campaign. He attempted to treat the issue with a platelet-rich plasma injection early in the offseason before opting for surgery this past March.

Although Pierce returned in time for the start of the 2026 campaign and played relatively well in the opener (catching four of his six targets for 61 yards), head coach Shane Steichen confirmed that the team's top wideout aggravated the heel early in Week 2. Pierce is now slated to miss extensive time as he rehabilitates the injury yet again.

While Pierce is hoping to avoid surgery this time around, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network revealed that a procedure isn't off the table and an IR stint could be in the cards regardless.

It was already going to be difficult for Pierce to live up to his nine-figure extension without the heel injury flaring up. With the injury already causing him to miss a chunk of time and potentially limiting him upon his return, it will be near-impossible for Pierce to perform at the level expected of one of the league's top-15 highest-paid receivers.

Things look bleak for a Colts team that already lacked depth in the receiving corps after parting ways with Michael Pittman Jr. this offseason. Pierce's absence could doom the team to another postseason-less campaign and make the front office deeply regret investing in an extension.

WR Wan'Dale Robinson, Tennessee Titans

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Free-Agent Contract: Four Years, $70 million ($38 Million Gauranteed)

Wan'Dale Robinson established himself as one of the NFL's top possession receivers during the latter half of his four-year tenure with the New York Giants. Robinson parlayed his immense slot talents into a blockbuster contract offer from the Tennessee Titans this offseason.

After two weeks of play, it doesn't seem that either side is benefitting from the new arrangement.

Robinson was supposed to be a safety valve for up-and-coming quarterback Cam Ward, but the pair can't seem to get on the same page. The battery has only hooked up six times on the season, generating a meager 47 yards and zero touchdowns in a pair of defeats.

It's a far cry from the prolific production Robinson had under current offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who selected the wideout in the second round of the 2022 draft during his tenure as Big Blue's head coach. Robinson steadily improved each season, culminating in a breakout 2025 season in which he recorded 92 catches on 140 targets for 1,014 yards and four touchdowns.

While it Robinson looked like he could be on his way to another impressive statistical season after tallying five catches on six targets in his Titans debut, that performance was followed by a highly-concerning one-catch, one-target outing against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Considering Robinson was only held to a single catch or fewer once over his final 33 games with the G-Men and logged multiple targets in each of those contests, it's obvious that there is a glaring lack of rapport between Robinson and Ward right now.

Although Robinson is currently tied with Elic Ayomanor and tight end Gunnar Helm for the second-most targets on the team behind top weapon Carnell Tate, the wideout has hardly produced more than running back Tyjae Spears (four catches for 41 yards on six targets).

These are unacceptable marks for a wideout who is being paid handsomely to move the chains and rack up a high volume of catches in Tennessee's offensive system. If Robinson can't get on the same page as Ward, his contract will be one the Titans quickly come to regret.

TE Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

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Contract Extension: Three Years, $54 Million ($36 Million Guaranteed)

Kyle Pitts Sr. has had a polarizing start to his NFL career, one that began with him becoming the highest drafted tight end in history at No. 4 overall in the 2021 draft. Injuries and inconsistency plagued Pitts for the better part of the past half-decade, but he finally put things together in 2025 to record some of the best statistical marks of his career.

With Pitts fresh off an 88-catch, 928-yard, five-touchdown campaign, the Falcons rewarded his steady production with a contract extension that made him the NFL's fourth-highest paid player at the tight end position.

That decision is looking extremely regrettable after Pitts managed just one catch for 15 yards over the first two games of the 2026 NFL season.

Pitts has been a non-factor in Atlanta's league-worst passing attack, generating a woeful four targets during the team's two losses. A good portion of the blame for this lack of production can be placed on veteran third-stringer Cooper Rush and undrafted free agent rookie Jack Strand—who have unexpectedly filled in for injured QBs Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. to open the 2026 campaign—but Pitts hasn't appeared to be giving his best efforts either.

Fortunately for Pitts, Penix is slated to return to action in Week 3. That quarterback change will give Pitts and the rest of Atlanta's slumping offense a fair chance to turn things around after a truly dreadful start. If Pitts can't figure things out with Penix under center, Atlanta will be saddled with one of the league's worst contracts.