The Drill: Hall of Famers? Maybe their agents
Posted: March 14, 2007
After Leonard Davis received $50 million to play on the right side of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line -
having already proved he can't play on the left side -
one had to wonder if owner Jerry Jones was paying homage to the armed service bureaucrats who pay similar prices for hammers and wrenches.
Having lots of money to spend doesn't justify the price. But NFL owners apparently didn't get that memo, because many a fool was soon parted with his money as the free agency period opened.
The following is a subjective list of the five worst signings to date:
1. Davis, OT, Dallas Cowboys
There's a reason the Arizona Cardinals, despite having constant offensive line problems, let Davis go. But Jones overlooked the eight sacks Davis gave up last year and paid him $18.75 million in guaranteed money.
2. Derrick Dockery, G, Buffalo Bills
OK, Dockery isn't a stiff, but paying him the same money Minnesota paid
Steve Hutchinson the year before (seven years, $49 million) . . . Pro Bowls at the time they signed: Hutchinson, 3; Dockery, 0.
3. Bobby Wade, WR, Minnesota Vikings
The Chicago Bears thought so much of Wade that they cut him after the 2004 season and Tennessee got two mediocre years out of him. The Titans were offering about $1 million, but Minnesota gave him $9 million over three years, including $4 million to sign.
4. Kevin Carter, DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Most teams wanted him as a backup, but Tampa Bay managed to outbid itself by giving him $5 million this year, including $2 million in bonuses.
5. Dewayne White, DE, Detroit Lions
GM Matt Millen traded a perfectly good pass rusher (James Hall) to St. Louis for a fifth-round pick and then signed White to a five-year, $29 million deal that includes $12 million in bonuses. Never mind that White, mostly a backup four years in Tampa Bay, had two sacks in the eight games he started last year.
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Tom Silverstein
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=577847
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