Cardinals Top Ten Worst Free Agent Signings

Oct 23, 2011; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Joey Porter (55) sits on the sidelines prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Steelers won 32-20. Mandatory Credit: Chris Morrison-USA TODAY Sports

This list could be filled with decades of players from a team with a history of loosing seasons. But I will attempt to give my top 10 worse free agent or trade signings by the Arizona Cardinals.

10. Dave Krieg: In 1995 Krieg was signed as a free agent, after coming off a successful stint with Seattle Seahawks, Chiefs, and Lions for one year. Krieg’s Cardinal career only lasted one year, that year he threw for 3,554 yards and 21 interceptions and he was sacked a career high 53 times and fumbled 16 of them.

9. Adam Snyder: After being part of a team that gave up 58 sacks is enough said about Snyder, he never got to the level he played in San Francisco.

8. Shaun King: After five years in Tampa Bay, King was signed as a free agent to the Cardinals and only played in three games. King got his status as a good quarterback from the years he played with the tough Buccs defense, he was a manage the game star and the cardinals thought he could bring that to the team.

7. Jeff Blake: In 2003 Cardinals go after Jeff Blake, again one year it lasted, cant get to far with a back up as your starter. At this point in Blake’s career he was nothing more than a back up quarterback at best. He threw for over 2200 yards and was sacked 19 times, and with a passer rating of 69.6 didn’t work out at all.

6. Duane Starks: Duane Starks got the NFL hype after recording 20 interceptions in four years with the Baltimore ravens. In 2002 the cardinals saw him as a got to have free agent, In fact, Starks was one of the hottest defensive backs going at the time. But signing with the Cardinals just proved he played on a really good Ravens defense and he was exposed as a Cardinal and missed a full season with a knee injury in 2003. Five years 23 million contract for a player who fit a specific system and was surrounded by good players that made him look good in Baltimore, not Arizona.

5. Emmitt Smith: The NFL all time leading rusher was a big name but was an old star that just couldn’t walk away from the fame and padding the stat books. Smith did not even give a glimpse of the player that was in Dallas. The final two years of his career he did not crack the 1,000 yard mark. One thing about Smith was he did play in all but seven games in the final two years of his career, he was a warrior. But it was time to walk away before the embarrassing stint with the Cardinals.

4. Boomer Esiason: A quarterback that always threw for about 3,000 plus yards in mostly all of his Bengals career, was signed in 1996 in the back end of his career, (which seems to be a Cardinal trend) and only recorded under 2100 yard and finished with a 7-9 record and like most retread quarterbacks that end up with the cardinals, it was only for one painful year.

3. Kevin Kolb: This one was so recent, that it’s way to exhausting to even speak on, we all as cardinal fans know this story fresh in our minds, enough said.

2.  Joey Porter: Joey Porter could not stay on the field, and when he was on the field, it just was not that player the Cardinals thought was in Pittsburgh. Should have had a little bit more in the tank, but was not able to stand out and seize the position. But he ends up loosing his job to a rookie and finished his career as a watching Cardinal.

1 Derrick Anderson: No one will argue that this was the worst signing by any franchise, and that the only excitement this brought was a very entertaining melt down with the media. This was an epic bust as a free agent signing; Anderson went on to play in 12 games, completing just 51.7 percent of his passes and threw seven touchdowns to 10 interceptions. He had a QB Passer Rating of 65.9 and only stayed in Arizona for the 2010 season. This was the definition of a one year wonder after his one good season in Cleveland.