Article . Best and worst FA signings of past 5 yrs, each team. (ESPN) (Davis and Browner) (1 Viewer)

Buddy asked me recently which of the following was the worst signing - Byrd, Browner, or Fleener? I said Browner. Byrd at least played, unfortunately was never the same after his injury. A lot was riding on Fleener and he was a huge overpay, but that did not match my disappointment for "Legion of Boom" (LOL) Brandon Browner.
 
Browner was flat out bad. His play (mugging/holding) would work in the old league. Flag after flag after flag. I'm not going to lie, I thought J Byrd would be close if not better than Sharper was at FS. He was a ball hawk for the Bills but in New Orleans ... could never put it together + the injuries.

Unfortunate because he had the talent to be elite in the Black and Gold.
 
My mind is kinda blown because I just looked up Byrd’s stats and he actually played 13 games in 2015 and 16 games in 2016. I don’t remember him playing that much.

I had high hopes for him. He wasn’t the only one on the defense that was bad those years though. I believe having zero pass rush was at least partly to blame for his bad play.
 
What’s the takeaway from this?

Let the buyer beware.

Think of the contracts that were awarded. Contracts that tied up significant cap space. What’s the return?

I’m not saying there aren’t good players on that list. God knows Demario has been worth every penny, and then some. What I am saying is that the Demario types of returns aren’t necessarily the norm. We were salivating for Suh and look how that turned out.

Free agency always looks appetizing, and is quick to separate teams from precious cap space. To me it appears to be much like the draft, the return for both is far from guaranteed. Drafted players cost a lot less though. I’m a firm believer in making the draft a priority resource for building/re-stocking a team. The financial impact of a “miss” is much easier to absorb.

You can look at different periods during Sean’s run as head coach, and the success rate is more likely tied to a great draft class, rather than free agency. Drew is a once in a decade (or more) exception.
 
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My mind is kinda blown because I just looked up Byrd’s stats and he actually played 13 games in 2015 and 16 games in 2016. I don’t remember him playing that much.

I had high hopes for him. He wasn’t the only one on the defense that was bad those years though. I believe having zero pass rush was at least partly to blame for his bad play.
He was pretty invisible on the field at that point, so I don't blame you for not remembering him. Complete bust of a signing.
 
What’s the takeaway from this?

Let the buyer beware.

Think of the contracts that were awarded. Contracts that tied up significant cap space. What’s the return?

I’m not saying there aren’t good players on that list. God knows Demario has been worth every penny, and then some. What I am saying is that the Demario types of returns aren’t necessarily the norm. We were salivating for Suh and look how that turned out.

Free agency always looks appetizing, and is quick to separate teams from precious cap space. To me it appears to be much like the draft, the return for both is far from guaranteed. Drafted players cost a lot less though. I’m a firm believer in making the draft a priority resource for building/re-stocking a team. The financial impact of a “miss” is much easier to absorb.

You can look at different periods during Sean’s run as head coach, and the success rate is more likely tied to a great draft class, rather than free agency. Drew is a once in a decade (or more) exception.

The only thing is I don't like filling holes with the draft. To make the most out of your picks you need freedom. You also can't depend on rookies immediately. Almost all of them typically need time.

So you use FA to fill holes on your roster. To combat what you are saying you don't go all out in FA though. Don't sign FA contracts that will burden your roster for years. Reserve those type of contracts for guys that have proven it with your team. Sign FA contracts that have outs and don't top the market. If they fail it sucks but you don't want to feel that for years. Also don't use FA to try to improve good or average positions.
 
A lot of people say Browner but I'm going with Byrd. Yes Browner was terrible, but Byrd was the highest paid Safety at the time and was a "huge free agent signing" that offseason. We broke the bank for him when we had very little room and he was a complete ghost on the field.
 
A lot of people say Browner but I'm going with Byrd. Yes Browner was terrible, but Byrd was the highest paid Safety at the time and was a "huge free agent signing" that offseason. We broke the bank for him when we had very little room and he was a complete ghost on the field.

Agreed. In fairness tho he was injured badly and never recovered. Bone on bone if I recall the reports accurately.
 

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