Cincinnati Bengals

Free agency is supposed to be the moment a player takes control of his own destiny. No more franchise tags… or NFL team options. The market opens, the phone starts ringing, and for the first time in most of these guys’ careers, they actually get to choose. And some of them completely blow it. Whether it is because the money was too good in the wrong place… or they just put too much faith in a coach or system that they thought was just right for them… We’re talking about players who had legitimate options—better situations, better fits, better shots at actually winning something and chose wrong. Whether they chased a bag that was slightly bigger, picked a city they preferred, or just got blinded by the moment, the end result is the same. Here are ten players from this offseason who screwed up their free agency decision — and the NFL teams they should have signed with instead. Which free agents signed with the wrong NFL team? Joseph Ossai, Edge: New York JetsNov 3, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai (58) runs onto the field before the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images Here’s a guy who is 25 years old, coming off back-to-back seasons of serious progression, setting career highs in pressures and defensive snaps in 2025, and he chose to take his ascending career… to the New York Jets. Three years, $34.5 million is nice money, but on an NFL team that went 3-14 last season, recorded the second-fewest sacks in the entire league, and is currently in the middle of a roster teardown that saw them ship out Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline last year… it is dubious.  And look… the Jets needed edge rush help desperately, so the opportunity to play is real.  But they are not a serious franchise… and they haven’t been in some time. He should’ve looked at a team that at least has some sort of plan and needed reinforcements in the pass rush… like Washington or Philly. Ossai has the talent to be a really good player in this league. But good players become great players when they’re in the right situation at the right time. He just chose the wrong situation at exactly the right time in his development. Tyler Linderbaum, Center: Las Vegas RaidersJun 10, 2025; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum (64) looks on during an NFL OTA at Under Armour Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Now look… we aren’t here to pocket watch or doubt another man’s financial decisions… We understand why Linderbaum took the money. We do. Three years, $81 million, effectively guaranteed. He reset the center market by fifty percent over the previous record.  No team was reportedly willing to go above $22 million per year—and Las Vegas handed him $27 million annually without blinking. But here’s the thing nobody wants to say out loud… Linderbaum is 25 years old. He was the anchor of a Baltimore Ravens offensive line protecting Lamar Jackson on a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  And he jumped ship, despite the fact that the Ravens wanted him back badly… Bad enough that GM Eric DeCosta made what he publicly called a “market-setting offer”– four years and $22 million per. And Linderbaum chose a 3-14 NFL team in full rebuild mode over that for… what? An extra $5 or 6 million a year? Now, some of the best years of his career, ages 25 through 28, are going to be protecting a rookie quarterback that Las Vegas hasn’t even drafted yet. And Baltimore is now scrambling to fill the most important interior position on their offensive line. The money is real… but so is the opportunity cost here. Michael Pittman Jr., Wide Receiver: Pittsburgh SteelersDec 29, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) celebrates his touchdown during the second half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images The trade was fine. A sixth-round pick going to Pittsburgh, a seventh going back to Indianapolis — call it even, no complaints. Smart roster management from both sides. The three-year, $59 million extension from Pittman’s point of view? That’s where we aren’t so sure about it anymore… Pittman is 27, he’s led the league in yards per reception back-to-back seasons, and he just signed the largest contract of his career. On paper, it sounds like exactly how this is going to work. The problem is what Pittsburgh is actually asking him to be… and that there is reason to believe he could’ve gotten more on the open market had he waited a year—or forced his way to a different NFL team. The Steelers ranked second-worst in slot receiving yards last season, and their biggest receiver need was a quick, elusive underneath threat, not another big outside receiver alongside DK Metcalf. And then there’s the quarterback situation… Aaron Rodgers is 42, hasn’t finished in the top 20 in QBR since 2021, and hasn’t even committed to returning.  The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. Their ceiling over the last five seasons is ten wins… yes… respectable, but not what a 27-year-old receiver with prime years ahead of him should be building his legacy around. Especially not right after their long-time head coach has gotten the boot.  Pittman had the market. He had the leverage. He could have waited for a situation that gave him a real number one opportunity with a legitimate quarterback. Instead, he signed a big extension with a team still trying to figure out who’s taking snaps in September. We hope it works out for him. But right now—it’s a questionable bet. Wan'Dale Robinson, Wide Receiver: Tennessee TitansNov 23, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson (17) runs upfield after catching a swing pass in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images Now, the reunion with Brian Daboll is legitimately interesting.  They spent two productive seasons together with the Giants, and Daboll knows exactly how to use Robinson’s quickness and route-running in the short and intermediate game. That part makes real football sense.  And… yes… he got a nice payday to go down to Tennessee… But there are serious questions as to whether the Titans are anywhere near ready to contend—and if they truly have the answer at quarterback with Cam Ward. Now he is going to be asked to carry a receiving corps that doesn’t have a proven second option, a third option, or really anything behind him, when he could’ve taken slightly less money to join a contender like Buffalo or Baltimore that was looking to improve their receiver corps. Zion Johnson, Guard: Cleveland BrownsOct 21, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Chargers guard Zion Johnson (77) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Johnson is a guy who has never been viewed as a finished product… and needed to find a more stable home than he will in Cleveland.  The smart play for Johnson was a one-year prove-it deal on an NFL team with an established, functioning offensive line around him… Maybe in Chicago, where they were looking for depth pieces to round out a dominant unit.  He needed to find a place with proven pieces on either side of you, where the infrastructure could elevate his game, and a good season looks even better because the whole unit is performing — and then come back the following offseason with the tape and the leverage to command even more money than he just signed for.  That’s how players in his position maximize their careers. Odafe Oweh, Edge: Washington CommandersDec 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Odafe Oweh (98) celebrates a sack against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Look—on the surface, you can’t blame the man for taking it. That’s life-changing money. Nobody is sitting here telling Odafe Oweh he should’ve left $68 million in guarantees on the table. But here’s the problem with taking that deal in that situation… Oweh has started 27 of 79 career games. His best football came in an elite system… in Baltimore under Mike Macdonald, surrounded by a coordinated, disciplined defense that put him in the right spots at the right times, he looked like a future star.  The moment he left that structure, first in the Chargers mid-season trade last year, the production dropped. The system was doing more work than people realized. San Francisco was right there. A defense that has consistently turned good edge rushers into great ones. A coaching staff that develops pass rushers better than almost any organization in football. A place where Oweh could have walked in, been built up properly, had a monster season, and come back the following offseason as the most sought-after edge rusher on the market — commanding an even bigger second contract at 27 years old with the tape to back it up. Instead, he skipped straight to the biggest number and is now the primary pass rush identity of an entire defense for a team that has a plethora of question marks on its roster. Travis Etienne, Running Back: New Orleans SaintsTravis Etienne Jr (Image Credits: Imagn) The homecoming story writes itself, and we get it. The kid from Jennings, Louisiana, gets four years, $52 million to come home… it is a great narrative. Here’s the part that’s harder to romanticize… Now he’s locked into four years with a team quarterbacked by Tyler Shough, who came on nicely in the second half of last season. But is a far from a known commodity in the NFL… Even worse is the team’s offensive line situation. And here’s the thing about running backs specifically—the line around you matters enormously. Dallas has one of the better offensive fronts in football. A two-year deal there would have given Etienne the kind of infrastructure that makes a running back look elite, kept him fresh for the back nine of his career, and set him up for a nice third contract at 29. I mean, look at the way that Javonte Williams produced for them last season? Instead, he signed a four-year contract with a Saints team that is still very much figuring out what it is. Some combination of the wallet and the heart won this one. Whether the football career does too… that’s a much harder argument to make. Boye Mafe, Edge: Cincinnati BengalsDec 8, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Three years, $60 million… to go to Cincinnati. Let’s sit with that for a second. Mafe just spent four seasons in Seattle quietly becoming one of the more consistent pass rushers in football… and now he’s taking okay money to be the fill-in for Trey Hendrickson? Mafe isn’t a project — he’s a proven, productive edge rusher entering his prime. And he took those credentials… to a Bengals team that has looked lost in recent years… especially on the defensive side of the ball, and has real questions around whether Joe Burrow’s body is ever going to hold up for a full season again. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders were sitting there with more cap space than any team in the NFL, a gaping hole at edge rusher after the Maxx Crosby situation collapsed, and a clear organizational mandate to build something real around the number one overall pick.  They needed a player like Mafe and had the money to pay him big bucks.  Instead, the Raiders signed Kwity Paye — a player who ranked dead last in pass rush win rate among all qualified edge rushers last season — and watched Mafe sign elsewhere for less guaranteed money… There is reason to believe that Mafe would have been the most impactful defensive signing of the entire Raiders offseason, but he left the perfect situation on the table.  Minkah Fitzpatrick, Safety: New York JetsAug 23, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (29) looks on before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Let’s start with the one that stings the most, because Fitzpatrick had everything going for him at the negotiating table and still managed to end up in the wrong place. The Dolphins were unloading the roster. They cut Tyreek Hill. They released Tua… And then… they shipped Fitzpatrick to the Jets for a seventh-round pick, and what’s shocking is he chose to sign a three-year, $40 million extension.  One has to wonder what prompted Fitzpatrick—a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro who turns 30 in November—to agree to spend the final chapter of his prime on an NFL team that went 3-14 last season, finished 31st in points allowed, and hasn’t made the playoffs in fifteen years. Here’s what nobody is saying loudly enough: Fitzpatrick had leverage.  The Dolphins were desperate to move his contract. A player of his caliber and pedigree could have made noise about his destination. He could have pushed toward Houston, where the Texans desperately needed secondary depth, where Will Anderson Jr. is developing into one of the premier pass rushers in the AFC, and where the team is genuinely competing for a Super Bowl in the next two or three years. Instead, he’s in New York, where the Jets went the entire 2025 season without recording a single interception, and they clearly have no real plan to fix a historically broken defense. Now, Fitzpatrick is going to waste his last good years on a team that… frankly… he deserves better than. Malik Willis, Quarterback: Miami DolphinsOct 19, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Ah… the curious case of Malik Willis… once a forgotten man down in Tennessee, to the most highly touted QB project on the market with Green Bay. But let’s keep in mind… he just went from one of the best supporting casts in football… an offense with weapons, an elite offensive line, and a head coach in Matt LaFleur who maximized everyone around him—to a Miami team absorbing an NFL-record $99 million dead cap hit for a quarterback they just released. Three years, $67.5 million. On a team in complete teardown mode. $45 million guaranteed is nothing to sneeze at. But you have to think he could’ve gotten comparable money somewhere else that wasn’t sending him into a horrendous situation—like the one he just escaped in Nashville. Arizona comes to mind… Sure, it isn’t a team that is ready to contend, but they at least want to try! And they have a whole group of guys ready to show that it was Kyler who was the problem… Plus, there was the familiarity with the coaching staff for Willis, too. Instead, now he’s the face of a franchise that also just cut Tyreek Hill, traded Minkah Fitzpatrick for a seventh-round pick, and is about as far from competing as any team in the AFC.  The Cardinals would have given him a real shot, but he chose a team that can’t even guarantee him a legitimate offensive line to play behind—that will cut bait the second that there is another option.