Top 15 NFL Free Agent Contracts Guaranteed to Weigh Teams Down

Now that the dust has mostly started to settle on the wild and wacky 2011 NFL free agency period, we wanted to take a look back at the various free agent contracts that will turn out to weigh the respective NFL team down for the rest of the year.

We are considering the contracts of all free agents, whether they were restricted or not. If you are wondering about the new Michael Vick deal, since he was already under contract to the Philadelphia Eagles, he would not be considered to be a free agent.

Maybe some of the players on this list will play up to the lofty levels that they signed for, but the probability is that the vast majority of this list will either prove to not be worth the money or will eventually have to restructure their deal somewhere down the road if they want to continue receiving a paycheck with their current team.

Following Up on Matt Miller's Article

Back on August 3rd, Bleacher Report's NFL Lead Writer Matt Miller wrote this article, entitled: NFL Free Agency 2011: 10 Players Who Were Horribly Overpaid.

In Matt's article, he felt that the following players were all overpaid: Eric Weddle and Jeromey Clary (SD), DeAngelo Williams (CAR), Kevin Burnett (MIA), Tarvaris Jackson and Sidney Rice (SEA), Quincy Black and Davin Joseph (TB), Chris Chester (WASH) and Clint Session (JAX).

There has been enough free agency movement since August 3rd that we felt there was enough material to come up with a Part II list, and maybe even a couple that Matt didn't originally include, but could have.

Since then, Jason LaCanfora of NFL Network, came out with a piece on August 16th, that detailed where all 32 teams were with respect to the 2011 salary cap, and how much space they still had to play with. You can find a link to that story here.

So, let's proceed to the new list.

Paul Posluszny

Paul Posluszny is a talented linebacker, but he has his limitations. One of the limitations is that he has trouble keeping up with backs coming out of the backfield. Posluszny isn't the fleetest of foot linebackers in the NFL. The Buffalo Bills knew this, and in the first quarter of action against their ex-teammate, Ryan Fitzpatrick isolated Fred Jackson on Posluszny for this 30-yard pass completion.

The Jacksonville Jaguars for some reason believed that Posluszny was worth a $42 MM contract over six years. At that price, the Bills were more than happy to let him walk, as they were able to replace him with much more reasonably priced options like Nick Barnett and ex-Jaguars Kirk Morrison.

As for Posluszny he now gets to play middle linebacker in the Jaguars 4-3 scheme. But, if his injury history in Buffalo follows him to Jacksonville, the Jaguars will be wondering why they paid so much money to somebody that is so slow.

Logan Mankins

The New England Patriots have one of the highest paid players in the NFL in quarterback Tom Brady. Now they have another contract that is up there in the high-rent district. It belongs to guard Logan Mankins. No doubt, Mankins is one of the elite guards in the NFL.

Of course, the Patriots want to make sure that they have the proper protection in place to protect their investment in Tom Brady. But when they signed Mankins to a six-year contract worth $51 MM, of which $30 MM is guaranteed, they are really tying their hands with these two massive contracts. Is Mankins truly worth $51 MM? We aren't questioning that he is talented. We just wonder if he is worth all that.

The saving grace for the Patriots is that their ability to win has allowed them to recruit potential key pieces in Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco at reduced rates. But if injuries hit the team, or if these imports prove to be more of a headache than they are worth, the Patriots may find out that they have less room to maneuver with due to the big deals they consummated in free agency.

Michael Koenen

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed punter Michael Koenen to a six-year contract worth $19.5 MM, of which $6.5 MM was guaranteed. Are you kidding me? 

Koenen was somebody that the Bucs must have been admiring from afar, as he was with the Atlanta Falcons. But almost $20 MM for a punter?

Unless Koenen is able to have his punts downed within the 10-yard line every time the Bucs are around midfield, this is going to be a deal they regret. Maybe there is some fine print that he has to give back $250,000.00 for every touchback or something like that.

Justin Blalock

Atlanta Falcon guard Justin Blalock must have been wondering what was going to happen to his deal, as well as that of fellow free agent linemen such as Tyson Clabo. The Falcons were faced with the prospect of losing most of their veteran linemen due to free agency, and needed to step up if they were going to keep their offensive unit from 2010 together.

Well the ship came in for both Clabo and Blalock, as the Falcons found a way to retain both of them. Blalock signed a six-year deal for $38 MM, of which $16 MM was guaranteed.

The Falcons offense was one of their strengths from the 2010 season. But for those of you who watched the playoff loss to Green Bay, the problem wasn't the offense with Atlanta, it was the defense. If the defense continues to be an issue for the Falcons in 2011, they can look back at the deals they struck for their offensive linemen, and wonder if that was really such a smart move to have so much cap space tied up there.

Michael Huff

When ex-teammate Warren Sapp started telling NFL teams that investing in Michael Huff was probably not a smart move, Huff and his representatives were left to figure out what they could do to limit the damage control. Sapp made his remarks about Huff based on watching his effort in practice on a daily basis.

But despite having other interested parties in him, Huff was able to have his pay day, when the Raiders decided to bring Huff back for a four-year contract worth $32 MM. One of the more interesting aspects of the deal is that Huff is slated to earn $16 MM in the first year of this new deal.

Now the question is: Does Huff continue to play at the level he performed at last year due to his contract coming up, or does he revert to his poor practice habits of the first few years? We will know soon enough, but the Raiders can kiss that $16 MM goodbye, either way.

Zach Miller

While we are discussing 2010 Oakland Raiders, why not bring up tight end Zack Miller?  Miller signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks for five years, which will pay him $34 MM, of which half of it, $17 MM, is guaranteed.

There is no doubt that Miller is one of the better tight ends in the NFL. But the problem with this deal is trying to figure out who exactly is going to be the Seahawks quarterback that will be throwing the ball to Miller.

If Miller becomes one of the leading receivers on the Seahawks team in 2011, this might prove to be a worthwhile contract. If they wind up needing to keep him at the line of scrimmage to help the struggling offensive line, then this will turn out to be a wasted investment. Maybe over the life of the deal, Miller will have a top-flight quarterback to throw the ball to him. But for 2011, nobody fits that description.

Kamerion Wimbley

Finishing our run on 2010 Raiders players that were free agents, we come to linebacker Kamerion Wimbley. Wimbley has not always played at a high level. In fact, it would be reasonable to say that he has had more bad seasons than he has good seasons.

Yet there were the Raiders with Al Davis' checkbook in hand, ready to shell out $29 MM in guaranteed bonuses to Wimbley. The deal itself was a five-year contract that calls for Wimbley to earn $48 MM over the five years.

If the Raiders run into any tight spots later in the year when they are up against the cap, they can look back at the Huff and Wimbley contracts and wonder what they were thinking.

Marcus Spears

Then we move over to look at the Dallas Cowboys, who made a head-scratcher of a deal when they signed Marcus Spears to a new contract. Keep in mind that Spears is entering his seventh season in the NFL.

In 2010, Spears played in eight games. He recorded 18 tackles for the year. For the first time in his career, Spears didn't record a sack, nor did he have any passes that he batted down or deflected. It was the first time in his career that he was shut out in both categories.

So, what did the Cowboys do to reward him for his efforts? Why, they gave him a five-year deal for $19.2 MM. According to Rotoworld the deal also included $4.2 MM guaranteed, including a $3.5 million signing bonus. 

Deals like this one make people wonder if it is time for Jerry Jones to actually hire a real general manager for the team, you know, somebody other than himself. You have to wonder if subsequent moves like releasing center Andre Gurode or the inability to come up with enough cap space to land Nnamdi Asomugha are the result of deals like Spears and the player on our next slide.

Orlando Scandrick

Sorry if this sounds like a broken record, but what are the Dallas Cowboys doing? They have a slot corner in Orlando Scandrick that has trouble defending on the outside. He is limited in what he can do to help your team.

After three years in the NFL, Scandrick has managed to come up with two interceptions and 22 passes defended. When it came time to sign him to a new contract, the Cowboys ponied up $27 MM, of which $10 MM was guaranteed for the new five-year deal.

And Cowboys fans wonder why they were not able to land Nnamdi Asomugha. The Eagles signed Asomugha at five-years for $60 MM of which $25 MM was guaranteed. You could take the contracts of Marcus Spears, Scandrick and any Cowboys player that has a $14 MM contract, and the combined three players would equal the money the Eagles spent on Asomugha. Now would Philadelphia trade Asomugha for those three players straight up? I thought not. Would you?

Antonio Cromartie

While we are on the topic of talking about teams that wanted Nnamdi Asomugha but failed to, how about the New York Jets plans, and what they were forced to do when they couldn't land Asomugha to give them a "Dream Team Secondary?"

The Jets instead had to bring back Antonio Cromartie, but it seems like they overpaid. The Jets inked Cromartie to a four-year deal for $32 MM. They were more than half-way there. When you consider that Asomugha went for five years and $60 MM, the Jets should have been able to get creative and make that deal happen.

How much of that money that they invested in Cromartie could the Jets have used to upgrade their receiving corps?

It should make for some interesting games to see which team has the better secondary: the Jets or the Eagles? They play each other twice. The first meeting is September 1st in the final preseason game for both teams. Then they play for real on Week 15, when the Jets travel to Philadelphia with playoff implications on the line, in addition to bragging rights.

Steve Breaston

The Kansas City Chiefs are having a rather difficult time in trying to find talented wide receivers to come in and fit with their system. First, there was the reach for the latest wide receiver diva to join the NFL, none other than Jonathan Baldwin.

Then the Chiefs signed Steve Breaston to a five-year deal for $25 MM, of which $9.5 MM is guaranteed. The weird part is that the Chiefs either didn't do enough research on Breaston, or he was able to hide the fact that he had offseason work done on his knee.

According to this report, Breaston isn't even projected to be a starter for Kansas City. Between the draft pick for Baldwin and the huge deal for Breaston, there seems to be someone within the Chiefs organization that is really missing the mark badly on wide outs. 

Stephen Bowen

You didn't think we could go an entire presentation about excessive free agent contracts without bringing up at least one new toy for Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, did you?

True to form, Snyder for some reason felt compelled to give defensive lineman Stephen Bowen a five-year deal for $27.5 MM, of which $12 MM was guaranteed.

The part that is hard to understand is that Bowen has already played five years in the league, but only has 5.5 sacks over that time. That means he is averaging one sack a year, and for that he gets this whopping new deal?

Bowen was part of a rotation at Dallas. In his five years, he forced one fumble and had one fumble recovery. Add all those accomplishments up and tell me how that is equal to $27.5 MM?

Roman Harper

With all of the various safety options that were out there in the market, New Orleans decided that they were going to re-sign one of their own, as they brought back Roman Harper with a new four-year contract.

The bad part is that the Saints decided to overpay Harper, to the tune of $25 MM. Included in the deal is  $16 MM guaranteed, along with a $7 MM signing bonus. Another $3 MM is available through incentives.

It is not like Harper isn't worth a nice contract because in his five years in the league, he has 9.5 sacks and forced 12 fumbles. But coming up with interceptions is not really his strong suit, as he has one pick in the last three years.

A similar kind of player was free agent Donte Whitner, who was also on the market. Whitner is also stronger at playing the run as he was in the top five of all tacklers in the NFL in 2010. But Whitner only cost the San Francisco 49ers $11.75 MM for a three-year deal. That deal illustrates how badly the Saints overpaid.

Marcedes Lewis

The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed free agent tight end Marcedes Lewis to a five-year contract worth $35 MM, of which $18 MM was guaranteed.

During his first four years in the NFL, Lewis was a durable tight end that didn't miss many games, but didn't do anything special either. While many tight ends excel as a target in the red zone, Lewis was the  opposite, as he never scored more than two touchdowns in any season.

Then, in 2010, realizing that he was playing for a new contract, Lewis decided to actually start playing. His touchdowns jumped from two to 10. He set a career high in receptions, yardage gained and generated the most first downs with his catches.

The Jaguars decided that the first four years must have been a mirage, and paid him like every year was 2010. And so it goes...

Nnamdi Asomugha

We end our presentation with Nnamdi Asomugha. For Philadelphia Eagles fans, his deal will be worth it if he leads the Eagles to the Super Bowl. If they wind up being a player or two short due to injuries or bad play, the size of the Asomugha contract could very well be the reason that the Eagles had to live with less than ideal starters at other positions of need.

Asomugha was signed early on in the free agency period on July 29th. That deal established the Eagles as serious players but it also limited their options of what else they could do.

The contract was for a five-year deal and for $60 MM, of which $25 MM was guaranteed. Asomugha is arguably one of the best corners in the NFL and is worth a small fortune.

But based on when the Eagles signed him, it limited what other free agents they could add to the team. Sure, they added other players like Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins, but their contracts combined were not as much as what the Eagles will be paying Asomugha.

So, from now until the end of the season, there will be much scrutiny paid to Asomugha to determine if he is really worth that much. If the Eagles go another year without winning the Super Bowl, you can imagine his signing will be discussed as one reason why.