NFL Free Agency: The 23 Most Controversial 2011 Free Agents

Controversial.

It doesn't always mean that a player has been arrested, it can mean they are prone to injury, are overpaid, are hard to work with or are just a bad signing.

Controversy seems to find itself into almost every storyline in the NFL these days—particularly when talking about players.

Which players in the 2011 free agent class will find themselves marred in controversy? That's what we are about to find out.

Kerry Collins

2010 Team: Tennessee Titans

Rap Sheet: Collins has been on the straight and narrow for the better part of a decade, and maybe even longer in private. While the mistakes of Collins' youth will inevitably surface every time his name is mentioned, that's not why he makes our list.

Collins is 38 years old, and it seems like the Titans are considering making him their starter for 2011. Tell me, how is that a good idea?

The Titans have a good offensive line and a great running back, but do they really see themselves in the Super Bowl this winter? Because if they do, Bud Adams is insane (or more insane).

The best bet in Tennessee, and the least controversial one, is to play Jake Locker.

Pat Williams

2010 Team: Minnesota Vikings

Rap Sheet: Pat Williams was suspended for four games in 2008 by the league for violating its anti-doping policy, for use of a diuretic, which can be used a masking agent for steroid use. It's believed Williams had used a weight-loss supplement that caused the test.

That alone is not the reason we list Williams here. His age is. Signing an almost 39 year old defensive tackle is a risky proposition.

Alex Smith

2010 Team: San Francisco 49ers

Rap Sheet: Former first overall draft picks are supposed to either wash out of the league ala JaMarcus Russell or become Pro Bowlers, like Peyton Manning.

Alex Smith is stuck somewhere inbetween.

Smith, who is likely to be back under a one-year deal in San Francisco next fall, will be among the most boring of the controversial signings in the NFL this fall.

Re-signing Smith will not set the 49ers back another decade like drafting him did, but it will delay the inevitable move to Colin Kaepernick at quarterback.

DeAngelo Williams

2010 Team: Carolina Panthers

Rap Sheet: DeAngelo Williams is a former 1,000 rusher and considered to be the elite free agent running back on the market.

What people gloss over is the fact that he missed 10 games with injury in 2010. That's controversial enough for us.

Adding a humorous insult to injury, Williams was accused of nickname stealing from the Titans' LenDale White and Chris Johnson.

Ronnie Brown

2010 Team: Miami Dolphins

Rap Sheet: Ronnie Brown has played in all 16 games just once in his five year career, and that was in 2008.

Brown has elite talents, but terrible luck when it comes to injury. Or is it luck at this point?

Brown has proven he cannot be a No. 1 runner. If he is signed to carry the load full-time it will be a massive waste of money.

Sidney Rice

2010 Team: Minnesota Vikings

Rap Sheet: Sidney Rice has the tools to be a very, very good wide receiver. He also has a scary hip injury that will keep some prospective teams at bay.

Much like the Saints signing Drew Brees in 2006, the move could pay huge dividends if the team choosing wisely. In that same year the Dolphins passed on Brees out of fear that his shoulder would never receover. They signed Daunte Culpepper.

Bernard Pollard

2010 Team: Houston Texans

Rap Sheet: The "Bonecrusher" has done no wrong, that's not why he's included here. It's all about the perception that he is an elite safety.

Bernard Pollard is an elite in-the-box safety. What he's not is an even average cover man.

Sign Pollard at your own risk. If you need legitimate help in the deep twos or threes, he's not your man.

Braylon Edwards

2010 Team: New York Jets

Rap Sheet: Braylon Edwards has been a frequent flier in jail cells across Ohio and New York since being drafted No. 3 overall by the Browns in 2005.

An example: Edwards was once pulled over for driving 120 mph in a 65 mph zone. Amazingly, he still has a license, even though while still on probation for the speeding offense he was arrested for a DUI.

Edwards' hands could also be considered controversial. He's never seen a ball he couldn't drop.

Ray Edwards

2010 Team: Minnesota Vikings

Rap Sheet: Any time a player will threaten to quit football to take up boxing, he's going to make this list.

Edwards has benefited from playing with three All-Pro defensive linemen next to him, but he has been average at best in his own career.

Some team will make the mistake of overpaying for Edwards due to his position and the perception that he is more talented than he really is.

Owen Daniels

2010 Team: Houston Texans

Rap Sheet: Since starting all 16 games and making the Pro Bowl with 70 receptions in 2008, Owen Daniels has struggled to match his previous success or return from an ACL injury that kept him out of most of the 2009 season.

Daniels is talented, but too many teams will remember his Pro Bowl season and not factor in that he has lost a step. He has also been a troublemaker when it came to his contract after the Texans used the franchise tag on him.

Good luck with this one.

Ricky Williams

2010 Team: Miami Dolphins

Rap Sheet: Where to begin?

Ricky Williams retired from the NFL one season after leading the league in rushing. Williams bounced around California, smoked a lot of weed, and then played in Canada before being reinstated by the NFL and serving a one-year suspension.

While Williams is a model player now, he's also 34 years old and has never been shy about his willingness to leave the NFL life behind.

Vincent Jackson

2010 Team: San Diego Chargers

Rap Sheet: Unhappy with being tagged as the Chargers' franchise player in 2010, Vincent Jackson decided he would sit out as many games as possible.

And sit he did.

Jackson did not return to the Chargers until October 29, one day before the deadline to receive credit for the 2010 season.

Antonio Cromartie

2010 Team: New York Jets

Rap Sheet: Just how many kids does Antonio Cromartie really have?

We aren't sure anyone knows the answer to that question. He is rumored to have fathered at least nine children with eight women living in six states, and has been named in at least five paternity suits in the past two years. In March 2010, the Jets provided Cromartie with a $500,000 advance so Cromartie could make outstanding child support payments.

At least we know Cromartie will show up to work. How else could he afford those child support payments?

Johnny Jolly

2010 Team: Green Bay Packers (suspended)

Rap Sheet: Johnny Jolly likes the sizzurp. A lot.

In 2008, Houston police arrested Jolly for possession of at least 200 grams of codeine, a second-degree felony. Those charges led to Jolly being suspended for the 2010 season.

While out on suspension, and probation, Jolly was arrested again and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute after police allegedly found 600 grams of codeine in his vehicle—which he was driving with a suspended license.

Jolly is not a free agent yet, but there is no way the Packers will keep him once the lockout ends.

Logan Mankins

2010 Team: New England Patriots

Rap Sheet: Mankins is an up-standing player, especially compared to that last slide with Johnny Jolly.

What puts Mankins on our list is that he has been very vocal over his unhappiness with his contract situation in New England.

The Patriots used the franchise tag on Mankins for the 2010 season, so he held out for the first eight games of the season to prove a point.

Mankins is an All-Pro, but he's also a pain to deal with.

Mike Williams

2010 Team: Seattle Seahawks

Rap Sheet: Mike Williams spent two years out of football after failing at his first go 'round in the NFL. Williams seemed to find redemption under his former college coach Pete Carroll, but which Mike Williams will we see in 2011?

There is a fat Mike Williams and a motivated Mike Williams. Which one will show up for camp after signing a big money contract?

Randy Moss

2010 Teams: New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans

Rap Sheet: The fact that Randy Moss played for three teams during the 2010 season should really say enough about what he's bringing to the table as a free agent.

Santonio Holmes

2010 Team: New York Jets

Rap Sheet: Santonio Holmes was traded out of Pittsburgh due to attitude and locker room problems, which seemed to follow him to New York.

Not only is Holmes a loud mouth, he was suspended for the first four games of 2010 after violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

Holmes is a top-flight receiver, but he's also one bad game away from throwing his quarterback and coach under the bus.

Vince Young

2010 Team: Tennessee Titans

Rap Sheet: We could write a full article on Vince Young's rap sheet, both real and perceived.

And yes, commenters, we know that Young isn't a free agent yet, but there is no way the Titans will give hi a $4.25 million roster bonus once the league year begins.

Young can be great, especially in the clutch, but he can also be a basket case.

Cedric Benson

2010 Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Rap Sheet: Have you noticed there are a lot of former Texas Longhorns on this list?

Cedric Benson has recovered well from his draft bust days as a Chicago Bear, but he still has trouble with the good people at the Austin Police Department from time to time.

Benson is currently fighting one of many legal issues stemming from drinking and operating a boat.

Michael Vick

2010 Team: Philadelphia Eagles

Rap Sheet: Well, he has been to prison recently.

Michael Vick may have won a Comeback Player of the Year award, but he's still a piece of crap in my book, and no number of fourth-quarter comebacks will change that he is a dog killer.

Re-signing Vick in Philadelphia will be met with no small number of protest from local and national levels.

Terrell Owens

2010 Team: Cincinnati Bengals

Rap Sheet: Even before a torn ACL threatened Terrell Owens' 2011 season he would have made our list.

Known as a quarterback killer, Owens has been a problem since making a beautiful game-winning touchdown pass from Steve Young against the Green Bay Packers in 1998.

Since that day he has thrown every quarterback he's played with under the bus—and then backed the bus up and ran over them again.

Plaxico Burress

2010 Team: New York State Penitentiary

Rap Sheet: Well, for starters, Plaxico Burress spent the 2010 season in prison after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub.

What more do you really need?