Picking the right time to let a player walk is one of the most important parts of NFL free agency. While new arrivals steal the headlines, teams must value their own players correctly and understand which ones to retain and which ones to let walk.
However, not every team picks the right time to move on from a player. Reviewing the last decade of NFL free agency reveals that most teams have let a star walk out the door.
Note that we’re focusing on what a player did after leaving his team. Many legends have left for other teams at the end of their careers, but those transactions don’t really fit the spirit of this exercise.
Each Team’s Best Player To Leave in Free Agency the Last 10 Years
Arizona Cardinals: DE Calais Campbell (2017)
When the Arizona Cardinals let Calais Campbell walk after the 2016 season, the defensive end was already entering his age-31 season. Although he was exceedingly durable and consistent, it seemed like the Cardinals were allowing Campbell to leave on the downturn of his career.
Instead, Campbell broke double-digit sacks for the first time in 2017 with Jacksonville, becoming the face of the “Sacksonville” era with 14.5 sacks. Campbell made four consecutive Pro Bowls from 2017-19 with Jacksonville and 2020 with Baltimore.
Improbably, Campbell started all 17 games this past season at the age of 38, proving his expiration date was far beyond what the Cardinals projected. He’s one of several high-profile defensive stars who have left Arizona over the last decade, with Tyrann Mathieu and Haason Reddick also garnering consideration for this list.
Atlanta Falcons: LB De’Vondre Campbell (2020)
The Atlanta Falcons haven’t let too many of their top stars leave the building in their prime. The likes of Julio Jones and Matt Ryan were traded late in their careers, while cornerstones like Jake Matthews and Grady Jarrett have signed third contracts with Atlanta.
Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell was a four-year starter for the Falcons but never a spectacular player who felt irreplaceable. That was reflected in Campbell’s free agent market, as he signed modest one-year deals with Arizona in 2020 and Green Bay in 2021.
However, Campbell makes this list solely because of that 2021 campaign with Green Bay, in which he was named first-team All-Pro. He turned that into a five-year, $50 million extension with Green Bay, though he was released two years into that deal and could be out of the NFL after his egregious mid-game rebellion with San Francisco last season.
Baltimore Ravens: EDGE Za’Darius Smith (2019)
The Baltimore Ravens have drafted extremely well over the last decade. While that’s helped them build a consistent contender, it’s also led to lots of free agent attrition with not enough room to retain everyone. Others considered for this spot included Matthew Judon, Ryan Jensen, and C.J. Mosley.
The slight edge goes to Za’Darius Smith, who cashed in with Green Bay after recording 8.5 sacks during the last year of his rookie contract. Smith’s four-year, $66 million seemed rich for someone who had been a rotational edge rusher in Baltimore, but he proved that he could scale his production up in a larger role.
Smith went on to make the Pro Bowl in three out of four seasons between 2019 and 2022, with the only exception being 2021 when he played only one game with a back injury. He recorded double-digit sacks in each of his three healthy seasons, earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2020 with the Packers.
Buffalo Bills: CB Stephon Gilmore (2017)
The Buffalo Bills have largely done an excellent job of retaining their core players since Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott entered in 2017. However, their first offseason saw the loss of a player who would become a superstar for their division rival.
Stephon Gilmore had some inconsistencies with injuries during his five seasons in Buffalo, N.Y., but peaked in 2016 with five interceptions and his first Pro Bowl nod. The Bills declined to franchise tag him, allowing the cornerback to join New England on a five-year, $65 million deal that made him the eighth-highest paid corner at the time.
That quickly became a bargain. Gilmore made game-sealing plays in the 2017 AFC Championship Game versus the Jaguars and Super Bowl 53 versus the Rams, earning a reputation as a clutch performer. He topped that in 2019 by leading the NFL in interceptions (six) and passes defended (20), becoming the first cornerback in a decade to win Defensive Player of the Year.
Gilmore has bounced around with four different teams in four years since leaving New England but remains an above-average coverage defender even as he approaches his 35th birthday.
Carolina Panthers: EDGE Haason Reddick (2022)
The Carolina Panthers received attention this past season for their 2021 quarterback room, which featured both Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield. Both passers found life after leaving Charlotte, N.C., though Mayfield was initially traded to the Rams.
However, the best free agent to leave the Panthers in the last decade came on the other side of the ball. Haason Reddick had an excellent one-year stay in Carolina. After signing a one-year, $6 million prove-it contract, Reddick exceeded expectations with an 11-sack season.
That led to a more lucrative multi-year deal with Philadelphia, where Reddick recorded 27 sacks and back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons in 2022-23. Only Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, and Micah Parsons had more sacks than Reddick over that span. Meanwhile, the Panthers had the second-fewest sacks in those seasons, ahead of only Chicago.
Chicago Bears: EDGE Leonard Floyd (2020)
After trading up to draft Leonard Floyd ninth overall in 2016, the Chicago Bears never got the expected return on investment. Floyd had a promising rookie year with seven sacks but just 11.5 sacks combined his next three seasons. That led Chicago to release Floyd despite exercising his fifth-year option.
Since leaving, Floyd has played for three teams over five seasons and had at least 8.5 sacks in all those years. The only other player with at least 8.5 sacks each of the last five seasons is Garrett. Floyd may not be a superstar, but he’s far closer to the impactful pass rusher the Bears hoped they were getting.
He’s also been part of contending franchises, as he’s been on playoff teams in three of the five seasons since leaving Chicago and helped the Rams win Super Bowl 56. The Bears have made one playoff appearance since releasing Floyd, which ended in a Wild Card loss in 2020.
Cincinnati Bengals: OT Andrew Whitworth (2017)
An extremely durable three-time Pro Bowler, Andrew Whitworth had an excellent 11-year run with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, as Whitworth has documented in his post-playing career, the Bengals’ frugality (specifically owner Mike Brown) did not allow him to finish his career in Cincinnati.
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Whitworth was 36 years old when he joined the Rams but squeezed out five more years of high-caliber left tackle play. That included a first-team All-Pro nod in 2017 and a Super Bowl championship in his final game to cap off the 2021 season.
Whitworth only ranked 13th among offensive linemen in cash earned during his Rams tenure. While $47.75 million over five years is nothing to sneeze at, it also would have been wholly justified given his level of play. That’s particularly true given how the Bengals’ offensive tackle situation disintegrated, with Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher failing to develop after Whitworth’s departure.
Cleveland Browns: C Alex Mack (2016)
A member of the Hall of Fame All-Decade Team of the 2010s, Alex Mack made three Pro Bowls in seven seasons with the Cleveland Browns. However, his most fateful year was 2014, when he proved to be a beautiful fit in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s wide-zone scheme.
Mack unfortunately broke his leg after five games that year but bounced back to start all 16 games and reach the Pro Bowl in 2015. By then, Shanahan had moved on to Atlanta, leading the Falcons to sign Mack away from the Browns.
The fit was perfect in Atlanta. Mack made the Pro Bowl each of his first three seasons with the Falcons, including the first year in 2016 when Atlanta made the Super Bowl. In six years after leaving Cleveland, Mack started 49 out of 52 possible games and reached the Pro Bowl four times.
Dallas Cowboys: EDGE Robert Quinn (2020)
The Dallas Cowboys have done a nice job of retaining their best players over the last decade, even if the path to those extensions has been painfully drawn out. No free agents have left the Cowboys and become multi-year stars in recent memory.
Robert Quinn gets this nod solely because of one season he had after leaving Dallas. The Cowboys acquired Quinn for a sixth-round pick in 2019, and he outplayed that compensation by delivering 11.5 sacks in just 14 games.
With Quinn turning 30 after the season, the Cowboys didn’t match the five-year, $70 million blockbuster deal he got from Chicago. That deal looked like a bust after Quinn had just two sacks in 15 games in 2020, but he followed that up with 18.5 sacks in 2021.
Apart from that one-year outburst, Quinn only had three sacks in 28 games after leaving Dallas. The Cowboys were right to not match his massive contract after 2019, even if the idea of Quinn with rookie Micah Parsons in 2021 would have been frightening for opposing offenses.
Denver Broncos: EDGE Shaquil Barrett (2019)
In the mid-to-late 2010s, the Denver Broncos had an exceedingly deep group of pass rushers. Established stars like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware were headliners, while first-round picks such as Bradley Chubb and Shane Ray were given plenty of playing time to develop.
As a result, undrafted free agent Shaquil Barrett never got much shine. In four seasons with Denver, Barrett played more than half the snaps just once and never had more than 5.5 sacks in a season.
Upon leaving for Tampa, Fla., Barrett demonstrated what he could do in a bigger role. He led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019 and then had 18 sacks the next two seasons as a vital member of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl-winning squad in 2020. While his run with Tampa Bay dipped after three seasons, that stretch proved that Barrett deserved a bigger role than he had with the Broncos.
Detroit Lions: G Larry Warford (2017)
The biggest name to leave the Detroit Lions in the past decade is Ndamukong Suh, who became the highest-paid defender with Miami in 2015. Suh had a respectable run over his final seven seasons but made just one more Pro Bowl and never exceeded six sacks in a season.
On the other hand, unheralded guard Larry Warford was a terrific player after leaving for New Orleans in 2017. Warford was a four-year starter for Detroit but was not retained after his rookie contract. After signing with New Orleans, Warford started 44 out of 47 possible games and made the Pro Bowl three straight years from 2017-19.
Warford opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and never played again, giving him much less longevity than Suh in his post-Lions career. But with a higher peak performance, he gets the nod as the best free agent to depart Detroit in the last 10 years.
Green Bay Packers: S Micah Hyde (2017)
The Green Bay Packers have mostly focused on retaining their top players under general managers Brian Gutekunst and Ted Thompson. And while Micah Hyde was never a superstar, he was also one of the rare players to improve after leaving Green Bay.
Hyde was a part-time starter over four years before leaving for Buffalo in 2017. Along with fellow safety Jordan Poyer (who also signed with Buffalo in 2017), Hyde became an underrated foundational piece for the McDermott-era Bills.
Hyde was a Pro Bowler in 2017 and second-team All-Pro in both 2017 and 2021. Injuries took their toll over his last two years with the franchise, but he started 79 out of 82 possible games from 2017-21, picking off 14 passes in those five seasons.
Houston Texans: S Tyrann Mathieu (2019)
Kansas City has swiped a pair of reliable safeties from the Houston Texans in recent years. While Justin Reid also thrived after leaving Houston for Kansas City in 2022, the edge goes to Mathieu, who made the same move three years earlier.
The Honey Badger had high peaks but also significant injury concerns during five seasons with the Cardinals. That led the Texans to sign Mathieu to a one-year, $7 million prove-it deal. He stayed healthy and started all 16 games in 2018, recording two interceptions and three sacks for an 11-5 Texans team.
That led Mathieu to cash in on a three-year deal with Kansas City, where he elevated his game further. In three years with the Chiefs, Mathieu started 47 out of 49 possible games, had 13 interceptions, was first-team All-Pro twice, and played in two Super Bowls (winning one). His one-year layover in Houston proved Mathieu could be a foundational defensive piece, but the Texans never got to enjoy his prime beyond 2018.
Indianapolis Colts: DE Denico Autry (2021)
The Indianapolis Colts got a lot of mileage out of Denico Autry, who signed a modest three-year deal with the franchise after beginning his career in Oakland, Calif. Autry was a versatile pass-rusher who accumulated 20 sacks in three seasons with the Colts.
Availability was a bit of a question during his Indianapolis tenure. Autry missed multiple games in each of his three seasons with the Colts (eight total), and he left for the division rival Tennessee after the 2020 season.
Autry took his game up a level in Nashville, Tenn., recording 28.5 sacks in three years with the Titans. He played every game in two out of three seasons with the Titans and recorded at least eight sacks every year. While the Colts didn’t miss out on a superstar, that production would have been worth retaining on another multi-year contract.
Jacksonville Jaguars: RB Leonard Fournette (2020)
Unfortunately for the Jacksonville Jaguars, there haven’t been a ton of development success stories to choose from in the last decade. To the organization’s credit, though, the team did recoup trade value for many of their best players who left, including Jalen Ramsey, Yannick Ngakoue, and Cam Robinson.
An exception to that was Leonard Fournette. After a much-hyped college career at LSU, Fournette was mostly a league-average starter in three years with the Jags and had numerous off-field issues that led to fines and criticism about his dedication. After a one-game suspension for a fight versus the Bills in 2018, the Jaguars voided the guarantees on his rookie deal and released him.
Fournette found new life in a much more stable environment with Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers became Super Bowl contenders with Tom Brady, and Fournette joined as an unlikely but vital contributor.
Though he never rushed for more than 812 yards in three seasons with Tampa Bay, Fournette earned a reputation as “Playoff Lenny.” In six playoff games with the Buccaneers, Fournette scored six touchdowns and averaged 95 scrimmage yards per game. That included 135 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl 55 win over the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs: C Rodney Hudson (2015)
The Kansas City Chiefs have obviously done a lot right regarding personnel decisions over the last decade. One niche area where the Chiefs have excelled is developing centers. Current All-Pro Creed Humphrey is the latest in a lineage that includes Mitch Morse and Rodney Hudson, both of whom became Pro Bowlers after getting paid outside of Kansas City.
Hudson earns the nod due to his three Pro Bowl berths over six seasons after signing with the then-Oakland Raiders. Hudson started 31 out of 32 possible games from 2013-14 with the Chiefs, but never quite fulfilled the promise expected of a former second-round pick.
That promise was fulfilled in Oakland (and Las Vegas), where Hudson started all but four possible games with the Raiders. While that didn’t lead to much team success, he was one of the few examples of yearly stability for the Raiders.
Las Vegas Raiders: CB/KR Keisean Nixon (2022)
As a former undrafted free agent, Keisean Nixon overcame long odds simply to make it on the Las Vegas Raiders (then still Oakland) roster in 2019. Still, Nixon was not a big player on defense with the Raiders, averaging 86 snaps per season on defense in three seasons with the franchise.
That led Nixon to leave after his three-year undrafted rookie contract expired. To be fair, no one around the league saw his potential, as he signed a one-year minimum deal with Green Bay in 2022.
However, the Packers tapped into a new skill set, allowing Nixon to return kickoffs for the first time. He immediately rewarded that decision by leading the NFL in kick return yards both 2022 and 2023, earning first-team All-Pro honors both seasons.
In addition, Nixon has become a reliable starting cornerback, first in the slot and then outside last season. In 2024, Nixon conceded a stingy 5.4 yards per target, which ranked ninth in the NFL.
Los Angeles Chargers: S Eric Weddle (2016)
Eric Weddle was one of the Los Angeles Chargers’ most accomplished players during their time in San Diego. The former second-rounder gradually improved and named a first- or second-team All-Pro in five straight seasons from 2010-14.
However, Weddle and the Chargers had significant tension over his contract during his final season with the team in 2015, which included disputes over fines and his placement on injured reserve. As a result, he wasn’t really a candidate to continue his career in San Diego despite his production for the franchise.
Weddle should have been on the downturn of his career at 31 when he signed a four-year deal with the Ravens in 2016. Instead, he made the Pro Bowl each of his first three seasons with Baltimore, anchoring three straight defenses that finished inside the top 10 in scoring.
Weddle capped off his career with two more seasons with the Rams, including the 2021 campaign when he came out of retirement for the playoffs and helped Los Angeles win the Super Bowl.
Los Angeles Rams: CB Jackrabbit Jenkins (2016)
Under Sean McVay, the Los Angeles Rams have generally either kept their core players under contract or let go of aging stars past their prime. That doesn’t leave many options for players who truly excelled elsewhere, with cornerback “Jackrabbit” Jenkins coming closest to fitting that criteria.
The artist formerly known as Janoris Jenkins was a boom-or-bust ballhawk. Although Jenkins had five pick sixes in just four seasons with the Rams, he also developed a reputation for allowing big plays and committing a high volume of penalties.
All that led the Rams to allow Jenkins to leave after his rookie contract expired. The Giants paid him handsomely on a five-year, $62.5 million deal that made him the seventh-highest paid cornerback in the NFL at the time.
Jenkins didn’t quite justify that contract, but he did have his share of high moments with New York. His first year with the Giants resulted in a second-team All-Pro berth, and he had multiple interceptions every year (including two pick sixes in 2017). He didn’t finish his contract with New York and left behind over $17 million in dead money, though, making it hard to argue with the Rams’ decision to move on.
Miami Dolphins: EDGE Olivier Vernon (2016)
In the last decade, the Miami Dolphins haven’t had many free agents go on to enjoy significant success elsewhere. Many of the best Dolphins to leave either did so on the downturn of their career (Cameron Wake and Mike Pouncey) or were traded (Ryan Tannehill and Jarvis Landry).
Olivier Vernon developed into a nice pass rusher for Miami, recording 25.5 sacks over his final three seasons with the team from 2013-15. The Giants chose to pay him like a superstar in the 2016 offseason, handing Vernon a five-year, $85 million deal. That made him the third-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL at the time.
Vernon did make a Pro Bowl for the Giants in 2018 and second-team All-Pro in 2016, hence his inclusion on this list. Still, he never had more than 8.5 sacks in three seasons with New York and was dealt to Cleveland as part of the Odell Beckham Jr. trade. Ultimately, the Dolphins were among the teams with the least damaging free agent defections over this period.
Minnesota Vikings: KR/WR/RB Cordarrelle Patterson (2017)
The Minnesota Vikings have largely done a very nice job evaluating their own free agents. Big signings like Kirk Cousins, Matt Kalil, and Trae Waynes have gone to bust after leaving the Vikings for another team.
On the other end of the spectrum, Minnesota didn’t really maximize Cordarrelle Patterson’s unique skill set after drafting him in the first round in 2013. Patterson was mostly a receiver in Minnesota, and while he earned two first-team All-Pro selections as a kick returner, he never garnered even 500 receiving yards in a season.
He left for the Raiders after his rookie deal expired when the Vikings declined his fifth-year option. The 2018 Patriots unlocked his potential as a running back, which became his primary position in the latter half of his career.
Patterson has never been a true offensive superstar, though his nine kick return touchdowns are an all-time NFL record. Minnesota did reap the rewards of his special teams value, but the Vikings could have better maximized his Swiss Army knife potential on offense.
New England Patriots: QB Tom Brady (2020)
With apologies to All-Pro guard Joe Thuney, this was one of the easiest selections on the list. Even though Tom Brady only played three seasons in Tampa, he turned around one of the NFL’s most hapless franchises and delivered three playoff appearances, two division titles, an MVP runner-up finish, and a Super Bowl title.
From a coldly objective view, it’s understandable that the Patriots felt Brady was past his expiration after 2019. His 24 passing touchdowns were his fewest in any healthy season since 2006, and his 60.8% completion percentage was his lowest since 2004. By PFSN’s QB+ metric, Brady graded out at 68.0 (D+), the 28th-ranked quarterback that season.
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Of course, the 43-year-old shockingly had plenty left in the tank. He had back-to-back 40-passing-touchdown seasons with Tampa Bay and helped the Buccaneers snap a 12-season playoff drought with the franchise’s second Super Bowl title in 2020. Despite playing only three seasons in his mid-40s, Brady ranks second in Buccaneers history in passing touchdowns and third in passing yards.
There’s certainly no guarantee he would have produced those same numbers in New England given the Patriots’ disintegrating supporting cast. However, letting high-level quarterbacks leave virtually guarantees that player will end up on this list.
New Orleans Saints: EDGE Trey Hendrickson (2021)
The New Orleans Saints’ legendary 2017 NFL Draft class was so spectacular that it would be impossible to retain all of them on second contracts. And while it’s hard to argue with retaining Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk, and Marshon Lattimore, the Saints likely didn’t realize they were letting a future sack leader walk out the door.
Trey Hendrickson was a rotational edge rusher who only had 6.5 sacks in his first three seasons. When he broke out for 13.5 sacks in 2020, it felt like a textbook case of buyer beware in free agency. After all, many of the biggest busts are role players who shine in a contract year but can’t scale their production up when handed bigger roles on pricey contracts.
Instead, Hendrickson turned into an elite player for the Bengals. In four seasons with Cincinnati, Hendrickson ranks third in sacks (57.0) and fifth in pressures (299). He’s delivered back-to-back seasons of exactly 17.5 sacks and finished runner-up in the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year voting.
New York Giants: RB Saquon Barkley (2024)
Most of the players on this list departed from their teams years ago. After all, it usually takes multiple seasons of sustained production to validate the idea that a signing was successful.
There’s no such waiting period needed for Saquon Barkley. John Mara’s nightmare became reality in 2024 when Barkley had the most rushing yards (2,504) in a single season (combining regular season and playoffs) for the Super Bowl champion Eagles. Across 20 total games with Philadelphia, Barkley also set the all-time single-season record for scrimmage yards (2,857) and 60-yard rushing touchdowns (seven).
The New York Giants remain far from contention and likely could not have provided a strong enough environment for Barkley to produce such a historic season. Nevertheless, the public embarrassment of seeing the Giants’ most marketable star elevate a division rival is enough to cement Barkley as the choice here.
New York Jets: LB Demario Davis (2018)
The New York Jets have actually allowed Demario Davis to leave twice. The team drafted Davis in the third round in 2012 but let him walk to the Browns after his rookie contract expired. Davis played one year in Cleveland before returning to New York to start all 16 games in 2017, leading the NFL with 97 solo tackles.
That season finally earned Davis a multi-year deal with the Saints, where he has thrived since. In seven seasons with New Orleans, Davis has made the first- or second-team All-Pro five times. He’s also been an ironman for the Saints, missing only two games in those seven seasons.
Davis said he considered the Jets his home after 2017, making his departure sting even more. New York certainly recovered to field an elite defense without Davis but missed out on a chance to retain a homegrown star.
Philadelphia Eagles: LB Jordan Hicks (2019)
Unsurprisingly, Howie Roseman has done a terrific job valuing the Philadelphia Eagles’ free agents the last decade. Most of the biggest names to leave the Eagles either became free agent busts (Nick Foles, Jeremy Maclin, and Javon Hargrave) or were on the downturn of their careers (DeSean Jackson and Malcolm Jenkins).
One of the very few competent starters to depart Philly was linebacker Jordan Hicks. The Eagles have traditionally devalued off-ball linebackers (until extending Zack Baun this offseason). As such, it’s no surprise that they let Hicks leave after back-to-back injury-shortened years limited him to 19 games from 2017-18.
Hicks defied questions about his durability after leaving, starting 76 straight games from 2019-23 for the Cardinals and Vikings. However, his durability has begun to wane as he ages with nine missed games over the last two seasons. Given how the Eagles structure their roster around paying more premium positions, they’re likely at peace with Hicks having a solid career elsewhere.
Pittsburgh Steelers: DT Javon Hargrave (2020)
The Pittsburgh Steelers typically know when to let a free agent leave. Highly compensated players like Le’Veon Bell and Bud Dupree have flopped on new teams (to say nothing of the Steelers’ various wide receiver trades).
One exception to that was Javon Hargrave, whose career improved after leaving Pittsburgh. Initially pegged as a run-stuffing nose tackle, Hargrave didn’t play more than 500 snaps until his final season with the Steelers in 2019.
At that point, he departed for a bigger role with the Eagles, where he produced far more as a pass rusher. Hargrave never accumulated more than 6.5 sacks in a season with the Steelers but had years of 7.5 and 11 sacks with the Eagles. He became a two-time Pro Bowler, first with Philadelphia in 2021 and then San Francisco in 2023.
Hargrave signed a much bigger deal with the 49ers which has not aged well after an injury-marred 2024 season, leading to his expected release at the start of the 2025 league year. Still, his first contract after leaving Pittsburgh was one the Steelers should have been willing to pay.
San Francisco 49ers: WR Michael Crabtree (2015)
For a team that is annually one of the deepest in the NFL, it was shockingly difficult to find a player who left the San Francisco 49ers in free agency and starred elsewhere.
Several Niners have had one strong season elsewhere (Sam Darnold, Raheem Mostert, and Mike Iupati). Others thrived but were traded, like DeForest Buckner and Alex Smith. Apart from that, it’s mostly been roughly average starters to leave, such as Jimmie Ward and Laken Tomlinson. While those are useful players, it’s reasonable to replace players at that level with draft picks on cheaper rookie contracts.
That leaves Michael Crabtree, who went across the Bay to play for the then-Oakland Raiders. Crabtree averaged 848 receiving yards per season in three years with the Raiders, scoring at least eight touchdowns in every season. Though he wasn’t a superstar, he and Amari Cooper formed a strong tandem for Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
The other choice for this list would be Frank Gore, who improbably played six more seasons after leaving San Francisco at the age of 32. However, while Gore’s longevity was impressive, he also had just one season averaging more than 4.0 yards per carry and never averaged more than 65 rushing yards per game after leaving the 49ers.
Seattle Seahawks: CB D.J. Reed (2022)
The Seattle Seahawks uncovered an unexpected gem in cornerback D.J. Reed. The former fifth-round pick flamed out with the 49ers but allowed only 6.2 yards per target in two seasons as a part-time starter with the Seahawks.
However, Seattle drafted a pair of cornerbacks in Riq Woolen and Coby Bryant in 2022, crowding Reed out of a job. He signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Jets that paid him like a mid-level starter.
Instead, Reed has sustained his productivity while elevating to a full-time perimeter starter. Reed has maintained his 6.2 yards-per-target average in three seasons with New York, allowing a total of six touchdowns over that span. Now entering free agency again, Reed should get paid like a true high-end cornerback.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: G Alex Cappa (2022)
During Tom Brady’s window of contention, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shelled out to keep a championship-caliber roster in place. And before Brady’s arrival, the Bucs were a largely destitute franchise whose homegrown stars didn’t leave town.
As such, it’s hard to find a strong nominee for Tampa Bay over the last decade. The best candidate is Alex Cappa, one of the few starters from the 2020 Super Bowl team that the Bucs couldn’t retain (albeit one who was injured that postseason). Cappa signed a four-year deal with Cincinnati, where he started all 50 possible games for the Bengals.
Still, durability was Cappa’s best trait, as he’s been below average in pass protection. Tampa Bay missed him in 2022 when rookie Luke Goedeke struggled at left guard, but the Bucs have since found Goedeke’s ideal position at right tackle and recovered nicely.
Tennessee Titans: RB Derrick Henry (2024)
The Tennessee Titans’ all-time leader in touchdowns had an unceremonious end to his tenure with the franchise. Derrick Henry led the NFL with 280 carries in 2023 but averaged a career-low 4.2 yards per carry and nearly 30 fewer rushing yards per game compared to 2022.
As such, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see a tepid market for the 30-year-old running back with massive mileage. However, King Henry proved he still had plenty left in the tank, forming a lethal rushing duo with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore.
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In 2024, Henry ranked second with 1,921 rushing yards while leading the league with 16 rushing touchdowns. His 5.9 yards per carry were a career-high and the highest by any player with 300+ rush attempts in a season since Adrian Peterson in 2012 (the year Peterson won MVP).
Henry delivered a year that would have won Offensive Player of the Year most years if not for Saquon Barkley. Nevertheless, Henry proved that he’s still an elite back in the right environment, which the Titans could no longer provide.
Washington Commanders: QB Kirk Cousins (2018)
Although he became the poster child for uninspiring adequacy, Cousins provided years of stable quarterback play for Minnesota after back-to-back franchise tags from Washington.
Cousins’ final three seasons in Washington included three straight years of at least 4,000 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns. No other player in franchise history has done that even once.
After Cousins departed, Washington passers ranked 31st in EPA per dropback (from 2018-23), ahead of only the Jets’ unit. Jayden Daniels has since transformed the franchise and given the Commanders a far rosier outlook than Cousins could have. But for six seasons, Cousins provided a level of quarterback play that would have been a massive upgrade over what his former team was producing.