Sadly and perhaps tellingly, putting together a list of the worst free-agent signings in the history of the NFL is not hard. Here's a look at the bottom 20 over the past 20 years:

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1. DT Albert Haynesworth – Some people argue that Haynesworth deserves a category all to himself for his slothful waste of a seven-year, $100 million contract. Haynesworth signed the deal in 2009 and was out of Washington before the start of the 2011 season. He was out of football after that season. He didn't get all the money, but he got way more than he ever deserved, spending most of the money on boats and legal settlements.



2. QB Jeff Garcia – For five years, Garcia was one of the great feel-good stories in the NFL. He was a San Francisco Bay Area guy (grew up in Gilroy and went to San Jose State) who played in the CFL before returning for a five-year run with the 49ers. But in 2004 at age 34, Garcia signed a four-year, $25 million contract with Cleveland. Except for the money, everything else was a disaster as Garcia played poorly and didn't mesh with Browns fans. He was gone after one season.

3. WR Javon Walker – After four good seasons in Green Bay and two years in Denver, Walker signed a six-year, $55 million contract with Oakland. Fortunately for the Raiders, Walker made only $21 million of it before being cut in 2010. However, he caught only 15 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown in that time as he was largely plagued by injuries.

4. WR David Boston – In 2003, Boston signed a seven-year, $47 million contract ($12 million guaranteed) with San Diego after being let go by Arizona. Boston put up decent numbers (70 catches, 880 yards, seven touchdowns) with the Chargers, but was so difficult to deal with that San Diego shipped him after that one year. He was traded to Miami, where he was eventually suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs and was plagued by injury. He played just five more games in his career.

5. CB Deion Sanders – Sanders' career burned so bright that he not only appears on the top free-agent signings list twice, he's also the only guy to make both lists. In 2000, Sanders signed a seven-year, $56 million contract with Washington (a team that makes regular appearances on this list). After one season of mediocre play and a baseball career that also fizzled out, Sanders quietly retired from the Redskins following a settlement that required him to return $2.5 million of his $8 million signing bonus. Money for nothing.

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6. DE Bruce Smith – At age 37 and desperately needing a place to finish his chase of the all-time sack record, Smith joined Sanders in grabbing a chunk of Dan Snyder's money in Washington. Smith got a five-year, $23.5 million contract, including a $4.25 million signing bonus. He played four years and his stats weren't all that awful (29 sacks), but his play was so uninspired that it was like watching a metronome counting off time (or in this case, sacks) until Smith was done. He finished his career with 200 sacks, just ahead of Reggie White's 198.

7. WR Andre Rison – “Bad Moon” came to Cleveland in 1995 after catching at least 80 passes for an average of more than 1,100 yards with Atlanta over the previous five seasons. He proceeded to flop around for only 47 receptions and was out of Cleveland after just one season. He had signed a five-year, $17 million deal with the Browns, but it was really just a harbinger of a tortuous end to his career.

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