The Most Turnover-Prone Player on Every NFL Roster

Nothing drives football fans crazier than when their team turns the ball over to the opponent.  All the hope and optimism for your team driving down the field and scoring are gone when they turn the ball over.

Fumbles and interceptions change the outcome of games by giving the opposing team more opportunities to score.  All teams turn the ball over but which players have the terrible tendency to cough it up the most?

Here is a complete list of the most turnover plagued player on every team in the NFL.

San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers

Philip Rivers is the classic case of a quarterback who makes careless mistakes when trying to do too much.  This year Rivers has thrown fifteen interceptions and fumbled the ball six times.  He leads the league in interceptions thrown.  That is unacceptable for your starting quarterback in this league.  Rivers' turnover problems have reached an all-time high and if he doesn't turn it around the Chargers are in danger of not making the playoffs.  

Baltimore Ravens: Joe Flacco

Needless to say Joe Flacco has not had his best year.  He has been consistent at being inconsistent. One thing that he has done this season is turn the ball over.  He has thrown six picks and fumbled the ball eight times.  

For a team that does a great job of getting takeaways, they have been cancelled out from Flacco's turnover tendencies.  There are times when Flacco doesn't seem to have pocket awareness, allowing defensive players opportunities to strip the ball.  The Ravens are a premier team in this league but they need Flacco to step it up in order to make a run in the playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Maurice Jones-Drew

We probably could have gone with the Jags' rookie QB Blaine Gabbert but he is a rookie and turnovers are second nature to them.  

MJD has fumbled the ball six time this season.  He is a tough runner who makes his living running between the tackles.  The cost of making your living being a power back is that you have to take on big hits.  This year Jones-Drew has shown the propensity to cough the ball up.  Even though he has had some fumbling problems he is still one of the best backs in this league. 

Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick

Michael Vick is as creative player that there is in the NFL.  He can make plays that no other quarterback can even dream of.  With his highlight-reel type play there have also been horrible mistakes made too many times this year.  Last year Vick was able to limit the turnovers and put together a MVP-like season.  

This year is a completely different story.  He has nine interceptions and two fumbles so far.  In his last game against Arizona he forced a deep throw that got picked off and ended the Eagles chances for a comeback win.  Vick needs to make smarter plays and throw the ball away when he is pressured.

Arizona Cardinals: Kevin Kolb

So far the Kevin Kolb experiment in Arizona is going completely wrong.  It appears that Kolb could even be in trouble in losing his starting job because backup John Skelton has won the last two games he started.  Let's get back to the point at hand though, Kevin Kolb is a turnover waiting to happen.  In this season Kolb has thrown eight interceptions and fumbled the ball six times.  If Kolb wants to end the Suck-for-Luck campaign then he better start playing more efficiently.

Indianapolis Colts: Delone Carter

Delone Carter has fumbled twice this year in only seventy eight attempts.  That means that he fumbles the ball two percent of the times he touches it.  Not acceptable for a professional athlete.  While he is just a backup running back, he still is adding to the dismal play that is the 2011 Indianapolis Colts.  

San Francisco 49ers: Frank Gore

Frank Gore is having a monster year and is a key reason for the Niners success.  Regardless of good numbers, Gore has a bit of a turnover problem.  Gore has given it up two times this year which is two times to many.  In previous Niners years I would say that Alex Smith is the most turnover prone player but this year it has to be Gore.  

Cleveland Browns: Colt McCoy

With six interceptions and four fumbles Colt McCoy is the Browns' player with the uncanny ability to turn the ball over.  In just his second season McCoy has not quite shown the efficiency that we saw in college. The Browns play in a division that has some intimidating ball hawking defenses that will give McCoy troubles.  The Browns will rely on Colt to make smarter plays when pressured so he can limit the turnovers.

Minnesota Vikings: Percy Harvin

Percy Harvin has turned the ball over twice this year due to his questionable ball carrying technique. Harvin gets himself in to trouble when he tries to do too much in the open field.  He has big play potential but needs to do a better job of holding on to the ball when going over the middle.

Chicago Bear: Jay Cutler

Turnovers have been a thorn in Jay Cutler's side for the majority of his career.  This year he has thrown six interceptions and fumbled the ball four times.  In all reality he is actually doing a better job this year at holding on to the ball, but he still comes in as the most turnover-prone player on the Bears.  

To Cutler's defense, he has seen an onslaught of pass rushers in his time in Chicago who have forced him into making bad plays.  Cutler gets into the most trouble when he tries to create something while under pressure.  Those two handed throws or left handed throws drive coaches crazy when they result in a turnover.

Houston Texans: Ben Tate

Ben Tate has put the ball on the carpet three times this year while playing backup duties to Arian Foster. Tate has put in an excellent year coming off the bench but three fumbles for a second option back seems to be a glaring problem.  Regardless of his fumble woes the Texans have shown they have one of the best one-two punches in the backfield in the entire NFL.

New York Giants: Eli Manning

Throughout Eli's career there have been turnover issues that drive Giants fans crazy.  Last year he had an all-time high in interceptions thrown in his relatively young career.  

This year however Eli has thrown eight picks and fumbled it three times.  While these numbers are surprisingly low for Manning, they do not alleviate him from being the most turnover-prone Giant.  There are countless times when Manning's pocket awareness just doesn't work and as a result he might throw a bad pick or fumble the ball.  

Seattle Seahawks: Charlie Whitehurst

In limited duty this year Charlie Whitehurst has been extremely unimpressive as Seattle's quarterback. He has played in three games and has turned the ball over three times.  This is why Whitehurst is at best a glorified back up quarterback in this league.

Washington Redskins: Rex Grossman

In six games Rex Grossman has eleven interceptions and two fumbles.  That is absolutely terrible to say the least.  The Redskins losing streak is tied directly to the poor quarterback play from both Grossman and Beck.  In a game against the Eagles this year Rex threw four interceptions. Four interceptions!  This is exactly why Grossman is on this list.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Rashard Mendenhall

The Steelers were a tricky team to do because their quarterback Big Ben has the tendency to turn the ball over relatively often.  But Ben gets a pass because of all the big plays he has made during his tenure in Pittsburgh.  Instead we are going with Rashard Mendenhall.  

Mendenhall's proclivity to drop the ball dates back to his first couple years in this league.  As you can see in the picture, Rashard carries the ball like a loaf of fresh baked bread.  This gives defensive players multiple opportunities to strip the ball from his hands.  While he has improved his turnover problems, he still makes it on this list.

Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan

Matty 'Ice' as Falcon fans know him is not having his best year.  He has thrown ten interceptions (one more than last year) and fumbled it three times as well.  Many people expected Ryan to have a coming out party this year and anoint him as one of the better quarterbacks in the league.  Instead he has regressed to making uncharacteristic mistakes that have cost his team games.

New York Jets: Mark Sanchez

With nine interceptions and three fumbles, Mark Sanchez comes in on this list as the Jets most turnover-prone player.  The Jets have made the AFC Championship game each year that Sanchez has been the starter but most people believe that has happened in spite of him instead of because of him.  

Sanchez is one of those quarterback who tries to make plays regardless of the situation.  There are many examples in Sanchez's career where he should have thrown the ball away.  He also doesn't know when to slide before getting hit.  If Sanchez can't step up his game the rest of the season, the Jets might be on the outside looking in.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh Freeman

Tampa had high hopes at making a playoff run this year.  At this point in time the Bucs are trending in the wrong direction.  Josh Freeman's play this year is a major reason why the Bucs are in danger of being left out of the playoffs again.  Thirteen interceptions through nine games makes Tampa fans throw their hands up in the air.  Freeman claims that nothing is wrong and he is confident on improving his play but he better get better soon or the season might be over.

Oakland Raiders: Carson Palmer

Jason Campbell's injury brought Carson Palmer out of retirement and on to this list.  Through three games Palmer has thrown a paltry seven interceptions.  Throw one fumble to that and you have terrible ball management.  I know it is tough to go from sitting on a couch on Sundays to playing against top NFL talent but, come on Carson.  The Raiders have the opportunity to win their division but they are going to need Palmer to find his sea legs and hold on to the ball.  

Buffalo Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan Fitzpatrick might be a Harvard grad but he has not been the smartest with the football this year.  He started out hot leading the Bills to incredible victories, but has slowly slipped into quarterback despair. Twelve interceptions and one fumble in nine games shows that Fitzpatrick forces the ball into tight coverage too often.  The Bills lackluster play of late is directly related to Fitzpatrick's turnover tendencies.

Miami Dolphins: Reggie Bush

Reggie Bush showed so much promise coming out of college but he has yet to realize all that potential. Bush has been a turnover waiting to happen.  This year alone he has fumble the ball three times.  He has sixteen fumbles for his entire career.  Bush has big play potential but he will never be able to get going if he doesn't hold on to the ball.  

New England Patriot: Aaron Hernandez

The New England Patriots were quite the tough team to have on this list.  Of course Tom Brady leads the team with turnovers but he is Tom Brady so he gets a pass.  That leaves us with Aaron Hernandez, who has fumbled the ball once.  It was a hard list to choose from because the Pats do a great job with not making careless mistakes.  Hernandez is still young and needs to work on securing the ball especially when he goes over the middle.

Denver Broncos: Kyle Orton

Even though Orton is no longer the starter, we had to put him on this list.  With just five games played Orton threw seven interceptions and fumbled the ball twice.  You know he must have been playing poorly if he got replaced by Tim Tebow who went 2-8 for 69 yards in an entire game.  Hopefully Orton will land on his feet somewhere and prove that he is a starting QB but he needs to shore up his turnover mistakes.

Kansas City Chiefs: Dexter McCluster

McCluster is a jitterbug type player who can make people miss in the open field.  Overall he does a respectable job at holding on to the ball.  He still makes this list because he has fumbled the ball twice in a limited number of touches.  He needs to do a better job of keeping the ball high and tight when running through traffic. 

Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton

Turnovers are what you expect from a rookie quarterback.  Dalton has turned in a great rookie season according to most experts.  The Bengals are knocking on the playoff door and Dalton is a major reason why.  

However, a successful year doesn't mean you can't make this list.  With nine interceptions and one fumble Dalton is the obvious choice for the Bengals.  By rookie standards those are relatively low numbers but compared to the rest of the team they are not.

Tennessee Titans: Kenny Britt

This one was a rather difficult team to pick.  Had to go with Kenny Britt because he has fumbled the ball in limited appearances this year.  In his three games played he had one fumble.  Therefore you could speculate that in an entire season he might have turned it over four to five times.  The verdict is still out on whether Britt is an innate fumbler but, at this point he makes the list.

Dallas Cowboys: Felix Jones

Felix Jones is somewhat of a fumbler.  He has put the ball on the turf twice this year, making him the Cowboys' turnover guy.  With Romo doing a shockingly good job of ball management, we had to put Jones on this list.  His turnovers will go down the rest of the year because he has lost his job to DeMarco Murray.

Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford has been able to remain as healthy as he ever has been in his short time in the NFL. He has shown that he possesses all the attributes that good quarterbacks need in order to thrive in this league.  With all that said, his eight interceptions and two fumbles this year show he has room to improve. Another reason he made this list is because the Lions have done a rather good job at holding on to the ball this year. 

Green Bay Packers: James Starks

James Starks is the guy who seems to turn the ball over the most for the Packers.  Obviously at this point Green Bay has not suffered too badly from careless turnovers.  That is exactly why we had to go with James Starks.  Starks has one fumble this season and that was just enough to land him here.  Sorry James, but when you play for a killer team this is the price you pay.

Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton

Another case of a rookie quarterback who still has some learning to do.  To many people Newton has been a nice surprise because they thought his game wouldn't transfer to the NFL where people are just as fast and strong as him.  He has had an excellent year by all accounts.  

Unfortunately for him he still comes in on this list as the most turnover prone player on his team.  10 interceptions and three fumbles thus far demonstrate Cam's turnover prowess.  Newton has put up big numbers yet the Panthers have not been winning.  If Newton can take better care of the ball in the final part of the season, look for Carolina to put together a nice little run.

New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees

Don't get me wrong, Drew Brees in an elite quarterback but this year he is the Saints most likely to turn-the-ball-over guy.  Naturally in a passing offense like the Saints, the quarterback is going to have a decent number of interceptions due to the high volume of passes.  This year Drew has thrown eleven interceptions, which happens to be the same amount he threw the entire year they won the Super Bowl.  

The Saints are a team who could challenge the Packers in the NFC but they will need Brees to play turnover free.

St. Louis Rams: Sam Bradford

Big things were expected of Bradford after an excellent rookie campaign.  This year Bradford has shown flashes of greatness but has been plagued by injuries.  Through seven games this year Sam has thrown four picks and fumbled the ball three times.  That is an average of one turnover a game which in part explains the Rams struggles on offense.  Bradford is a good quarterback who is going to get better as his career progresses.