5 worst free-agent signings in Arizona Cardinals history

Sam Bradford – QB (2018)

I hesitated to place Sam Bradford on this list, but overall, he beat out other candidates like Evan Mathis and Edgerrin James. But while the Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen during April’s draft as quarterback of the future, you could also draw Kurt Warner-Matt Leinart parallels here.

One reason it was easy to be optimistic about Bradford stemmed from his stellar 2016 season and hot start to 2017, in which he completed over 70 percent of his passes, threw for over 4,000 yards, posted a 100-plus quarterback rating, and tossed 23 touchdowns to five interceptions in 17 starts.

Then he came to the Cardinals and laid an egg, looking like the former bust of a first overall pick he had become in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Bradford played just three games with the Cardinals and threw for 400 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.

His ineffectiveness landed him a spot on the bench and it relegated Cardinal fans to watching Josh Rosen bumble his way through the tumultuous season.