10 Free Agents Teams Should Avoid

NFL Free Agency 2014: 10 Free Agents Teams Should Avoid By Seth Carson January 28, 2014 11:16 pm 10.  RB Ben Tate Tate has been injury plagued and carries the same burden to the next team as a free agent.  Any team looking to add depth to the running game should avoid signing Tate.  He’s not very durable and his injuries have slowed him down.  This year’s crop is filled with players better suited to address depth concerns, including upgrading over a currently poor performing starter. 9.  DT Henry Melton Melton has also been injury plagued the past couple of seasons and his level of play declined when he was healthy.  Melton has lost the lateral agility that made him shine in Chicago.  He turns 28 next season and isn’t worth the price he will get overpaid if signed.  A team looking for an interior defensive line starter would do better targeting one of the many talents in this year’s deep crop at the position. 8.  DE Michael Johnson Johnson entered last offseason demanding the tag from the Bengals who were unable to re-sign him for his asking price.  Johnson responded with a horrible 4 sack season, which saw him getting dominated off the snap on nearly every defensive possession he played.  Johnson lost a step during the offseason and it appears his courage left him too.  The bigger issue surrounding Johnson is the fact that may be a systematic defensive end, and played well for the Bengals defense under head coach Marvin Lewis.  At age 27 next season, there’s a logical fear he won’t be as productive on another team, and any teams thinking of signing him better read the warning label attached to the product. 7.  WR Hakeem Nicks Nicks has good hands and can run routes effectively.  That’s the best accolades I can give the 26 year old receiver out of North Carolina.  He had 4.6 speed entering the league, which has nearly slowed to 4.7 on the field this season.  He doesn’t get good separation off the snap and getting open in the end zone has become a problem.  Nicks will get offered a huge contract somewhere this offseason, probably by a team desperate for a 2WR like Cleveland, for example.  He’s not worth the asking price. 6.  RB Maurice Jones-Drew Jones-Drew is no longer a 1000 yard back and he’s lost a step along with a good deal of agility over the past two seasons.  He turns 29 this year and will be searching the league for one last multi-year deal from a rebuilder, or a short term deal from a competitor.  He packs in under 4 yards per carry and is in the same company as Trent Richardson with his ability to break open runs.  There are teams in need of a veteran with his marks, but he won’t hit those marks again, and the buyers better beware. 5.  TE Jermichael Finley He is a locker room distraction at best.  He has a terrible attitude towards teammates and an organization.  He thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread and demands that reinforcement constantly, despite the fact it’s undeserved.  All the problems he caused while in Green Bay will follow him wherever he ends up, and that’s exactly what the next team is paying to receive.  He’s got talent, no questioning that fact, but the attitude and treatment that comes with it isn’t worth the price he will demand. 4.  LB Anthony Spencer Spencer had one great season in Dallas in 2012.  He went down with a left knee injury last season after only playing 30 or so snaps against the Chiefs.  There’s no guarantee he will ever repeat his totals from 2012, and this type of injury has a history of slowing a player down.  One single double digit sack season over a seven year career doesn’t equal the money he will ask for this offseason.  In addition, Spencer is 30 years old and it appears father time hasn’t done him any favors. 3.  QB Chad Henne Are there actually any teams desperate enough to pay him staring money over a long term deal?  I’ll let that hang for a bit, because it’s an obvious sucker question.  Outside of the Jags themselves, Henne should have little to no worth as a free agent this offseason, despite the fact he started the past two seasons in Jacksonville.  He still has a noodle arm and terrible field vision.  Teams should only sign him if an injury occurs, in other words, they get desperate.  No need for that level of despair this early in the offseason. 2.  RB Darren McFadden Here’s another past his prime player that should not be given serious consideration to upgrade or increase a team’s running game.  He has slowed over his career, and his level of play took a nose dive as well.  He never became the star running back the Raiders drafted him to become, and any team that offers him big money is wasting their time and resources.  It’s the end of the road for McFadden and any other running back would be a better investment. 1.  QB Michael Vick Michael Vick...  the great player whose career was cut short by dog fights and prison time.  He didn’t lose a step, quickness, or agility as he stepped into a good situation under Andy Reid in Philly.  Unfortunately for Vick, his alertness and field vision never came back.  His play declined every season, right down to being benched in favor of 3rd round pick, Nick Foles. Vick will do his best to land a starting gig with a rebuilder, since every competing team knows better than to start him.  His days as an effective QB in this league are over and its best he just walks away from the game, but that’s a different topic.  Any team that entertains, no scratch that... any team that actually signs Vick, is getting damaged goods and an over the hill QB unable to hit marks close to what he did in his prime.  Undrafted rookie quarterbacks will be a better option this offseason!  He turns 34 next season, and has nothing left to offer a team but a big contract for less results. http://www.footballnation.com/nfl/