One of the most interesting parts of the NFL offseason is free agency. Players sign massive new deals, franchises rebuild or reload and fans get excited about their team's new acquisitions. Is free agency really all it's cracked up to be, though? For every Reggie White or Troy Vincent who makes an immediate and lasting impact with their new team, there's a Larry Brown or a Scott Mitchell who fails miserably and walks off with a bag of cash, leaving a stream of broken dreams and expectations in their wake.
The Washington Redskins perhaps epitomize a team that tries to build its roster through free agency, at least in recent years under owner Daniel Snyder and general manager Vinny Cerrato. Earlier this offseason, they signed defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a massive seven-year contract that could be worth as much as $115 million (depending on performance bonuses).
In recent years, they've signed players like Deion Sanders and Adam Archuleta to substantial deals in free agency and then been severely underwhelmed by their performances. The Redskins made Archuleta the highest-paid safety in the game in 2005 with a seven-year, $35 million deal, but turned him into a special-teams only player partway through his first season and then traded him to the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round pick at the end of the campaign. They also signed famed cornerback Sanders to a seven-year, $56 million contract in 2000, but he retired after one disappointing season before later making an impressive comeback with the Baltimore Ravens in 2004.
Kevin Ewoldt, a writer at the Redskins' blog Hogs Haven, said the chief problem with the Redskins' free-agency moves is how they see free agency as a quick way to buy success rather than a way to add individual parts to a strong team.
"Free agents should compliment the roster and the core group of players on the squad should push them," he said. "It is backwards in Washington. The free agents receive their fat checks and simply just play."
He said another issue is the frequent coaching turnover, which prevents coaches from putting their own stamp on the franchise's personnel decisions. Since Snyder took over in 1997, the team has had five different coaches in Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and Jim Zorn. Schottenheimer and Spurrier each only lasted one year.
"The Redskins are very impatient with coaches, so the new incoming coach has to inherit the current roster and they basically have one to two years for success," said Ewoldt. "That is a recipe for failure in my eyes. You need continuity."
There have been some free agent signings that worked for the Redskins, though, notably linebacker London Fletcher, who signed a five-year, $25 million contract in 2007.
"London is the anchor of the Skins defence and is the hands-down vocal leader of the locker room," said Ewoldt. "He plays with heart and is a true leader."
Ewoldt figures Haynesworth has a chance to be successful as a Redskin if he remains healthy, but he said the Redskins are likely to continue spending big in free-agency for the foreseeable future regardless of Haynesworth's impact.
Free agents are sometimes viewed as a way to instil a quick turnaround. If there's any franchise that could use a turnaround at the moment, it would be the Detroit Lions, who finished last season with the NFL's first 0-16 record.
Sean Yuille, who manages the Lions' blog Pride of Detroit, said acquiring free agents to fill positional holes should be a focus for the Lions this offseason.
"I think free agents should play a big role," he said. "I think once a foundation is established the focus can shift more towards the draft. That way you don't have to worry about signing so many new players, and if there is a big fish out there that is the missing piece of the puzzle, you can spend the money to sign him."
Yuille reasons that the Lions' struggles in recent years may have stemmed from the opposite of the Redskins' approach.
"Generally, the Lions haven't broken the bank for somebody," he said. "That never has been their style. Instead, especially once the Millen era began, the Lions focused on signing guys that wanted to come to Detroit for a reasonable price. That is part of the reason why the Lions have been so bad over the years."
Yuille doesn't want Detroit to become the new Washington, though. He advocates a best-of-both-worlds approach instead.
"I would prefer the Lions not go out and spend money like the Redskins do, for example," he said. "At the same time, it is not smart to sit back and sign only players that are willing to come in for a cheap price. I think the Lions need to find a healthy medium where they can make a big splash every once in a while and also maintain a comfortable salary cap."
Another franchise that's run into problems with free agents over the years is the Arizona Cardinals. In 2003, they signed legendary running back Emmitt Smith to a two-year, $7 million contract after he was cut by the Dallas Cowboys. Smith put up 17,162 yards over 13 seasons with the Cowboys and was one of their biggest stars, but he was 34 by the time he came to the desert and only recorded 1,193 yards over the next two seasons with the Cardinals.
Duane Starks was an underwhelming cornerback with the Baltimore Ravens, but stepped it up during their Super Bowl run in 2000-2001 and was promptly rewarded by the Cardinals with a $23 million deal that included a $5 million signing bonus. He spent three injury-riddled years with the team, recording five interceptions and one touchdown.
Dexter Jackson came from a similar mode; he wasn't especially notable as a safety with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until he recorded two interceptions in Super Bowl XXXVII and was named the game MVP, but he parlayed that into a five-year, $14 million dollar deal with the Cardinals in the 2003 off-season. He turned in a decent performance for the Cardinals that year, recording six interceptions, but was soon hit by injuries and was released the next year.
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