11 NFL Teams and Players That Got Screwed in Trades and Free Agency

We are through the first week of free agency in the NFL, and no one could have predicted the craziness that has taken place. Some teams and players have definitely been winners, while others have been...well, screwed.

Teams like the Philadelphia Eagles or the Houston Texans have improved their teams tremendously. I wish the same could be said about the Tennessee Titans or the Oakland Raiders, but it just wouldn't be true.

Someone once said, "You win some and you lose some." Some other guy said, "Sometimes you win and sometimes you get screwed." That other guy was me, and here are 11 NFL teams and players that got screwed thanks to free agency and trades.

Arizona Cardinals

Let me first say that I think the Arizona Cardinals will make the playoffs next year. Now, how could a team that is playoff bound get screwed?

The Arizona Cardinals put themselves in a situation where they were desperate for a quarterback. In fact, they were so desperate that they gave up a top cornerback and a second-round draft pick for Kevin Kolb.

That is the same Kevin Kolb that has only played in 20 games and thrown 11 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions. That is a lot to give up for an unproven player.

Had Arizona drafted a quarterback, they wouldn't have been in such dire need for one now. They can only blame themselves for what they had to shell out to get Kolb.

Vince Young

We all knew that Vince Young wasn't going to be spending another year in Tennessee. Heck, we knew it before the Titans drafted Jake Locker with the eighth overall draft pick.

However, I'm sure Young was thinking that he would be heading to a team that was looking for a starting quarterback. He probably thought that he would at least have a chance to compete for a starting job. Well, that didn't exactly happen.

Young ended up in Philadelphia, where he will be spending the next 16 games on the bench watching Michael Vick compete for a Super Bowl. 

New England Patriots

Listen, I know that the New England Patriots had to give up barely anything to get Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco, or Johnson or whatever he will call himself this year.

However, they still have to deal with the fact that they have Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco on their team. Haynesworth can barely stay in good enough shape to get on the field, while Ochocinco's career has been on a downward spiral for the past few seasons.

Bill Belichick most likely thinks that he is a genius right now. I predict that it will take three games before Belichick finally realizes that he has actually screwed his entire team.

Sidney Rice

Sidney Rice didn't get screwed for signing a nice fat contract. The reason that Rice got screwed is because he signed that contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

He will be catching the football from either Charlie Whitehurst or Tarvaris Jackson next season. He would probably feel more confident if he had a high school quarterback from Oregon, Wisconsin throwing him the ball than those two quarterbacks.

Rice must have been hoping that Seattle would make a big trade and bring in a top quarterback. That clearly isn't going to happen, and now Rice has to settle for an awful quarterback.

Oakland Raiders

Let me ask a quick question: Does anyone remember the Oakland Raiders talked about as a possible team that Nnamdi Asomugha would sign with?

Seriously, when you aren't even being considered as a destination for the top free agent when that player has spent his entire career with you, that hurts. It must have felt like Asomugha was the captain for a kickball team and the Raiders were the last kid to get picked, but then he realized they already had equal teams, so the Raiders just needed to go sit in the corner.

I've been in that situation before, and that is why I don't play kickball anymore.

Jabar Gaffney

It couldn't have been enjoyable to be playing for the Denver Broncos last season. It must be even less enjoyable for Jabar Gaffney to have been traded to the Washington Redskins.

Why? First, Gaffney has the wonderful privilege of having either John Beck or Kellen Clemens throwing him the football. When you throw in the possibility of having Rex Grossman as your quarterback, it looks even less pretty.

Also, Washington will most likely have an awful aerial attack, and Santana Moss and Chris Cooley will probably be the main targets. It appears as if Gaffney got traded into a terrible situation.

San Diego Chargers

San Diego absolutely needed to sign Eric Weddle. The fact that they needed to sign him to a better contract than Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu get is why they got screwed.

Weddle is the leader of the Chargers defense, and losing him would have most likely knocked San Diego out of playoff contention. He put them in a tough situation, and all they could do was shell out a ton of cash to keep him.

Certainly a great contract for Weddle, but a terrible contract for the Chargers.

Braylon Edwards

When the New York Jets re-signed Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards was expected to get a contract shortly after. However, the Jets started to get in the Nnamdi Asomugha sweepstakes, and Edwards was a forgotten man.

Not only have the Jets not re-signed Edwards, but they have brought in Plaxico Burress, which absolutely means that Edwards will be playing for a new team next season. What makes matters even worse is that he has waited this long for that new team to surface.

After having a good season for the Jets, it is surprising to see Edwards be in the situation he currently in in. I guess you can even get screwed after posting quality numbers.

Tennesse Titans

When the Tennessee Titans drafted Jake Locker, everyone was quite shocked. After Kerry Collins retired, it appeared as if Locker would get the chance to start his rookie year.

But then the Titans went out and signed the 35-year-old Matt Hasselbeck to a contract that lasts three years. That move seemed rather desperate and was quite a reach for Tennessee. However, that was only the beginning for a very bad free agency.

Both Stephen Tulloch and Jason Babin, two of the Titans' best players, left for new teams. Babin signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Tulloch landed a great deal in Detroit.

Now Tennessee has an old quarterback and a weak defense. They will probably end up in the cellar of the AFC South, and it is all thanks to free agency.

Ronnie Brown

The Miami Dolphins two-headed rushing attack of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are both free agents. While no one expected the Dolphins to keep both players, they could have kept one, and that one would probably have been Brown.

After the Dolphins traded for Reggie Bush, the days of Ronnie Brown are all but over in Miami. The question that now remains is, where will Brown land? There aren't many teams that are in need of an oft injured running back.

Had the Dolphins not traded for Bush, Brown might have landed himself a decent contract with the team he has spent his whole career with. As it sits right now, he will most likely be on a new team with a much worse contract than he expected.

San Francisco 49ers

Things just never appear to go San Francisco's way. Every year, it looks like they might become a playoff contender, but every year, something goes terribly wrong and they end up dabbling in mediocrity.

This year, what has gone wrong for them is free agency. First, they released Nate Clements. While Clements had never lived up to expectations, he was still a quality corner.

By releasing him, the 49ers were putting all their eggs in Nnamdi Asomugha's basket. They were major players for a while, but ultimately lost out to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now the 49ers' secondary is completely depleted and should be taken advantage of consistently by opposing quarterbacks.