As we look back on 2008, here are some of the best and worst NFL player contract signings.  There was no shortage of candidates, but I’ve selected five of each, in no particular order.

Best Bargain Signings

Antonio Bryant, Tampa Bay – Bryant was there for the taking by anyone who wanted him, as there were whispers about character and coachability after some choppy times with the Browns, 49ers and Cowboys.  Bryant didn’t even play in 2007 and landed with the Bucs this year on a one-year minimum deal for $605,000.  Bryant finished the season sixth in the NFC in receiving yards and fourth in receptions, especially impressive in an offense that did not go downfield very often.  There will still be concerns about character here, but he has certainly earned a big deal, subject to the obvious caveat about not paying huge money to receivers (see below).  Bryant may even go from a minimum contract to a Franchise tag, as Tampa certainly has ample Cap room if it wants to go that route.

Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins – Pennington would have been nowhere near Miami, Miami would have been nowhere near the playoffs and we would not be praising Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano had Brett Favre not wanted to come out of retirement.  Brett was rebuffed by the Packers, which led him to the Jets and led Pennington to the Dolphins, who advanced to the playoffs.  At $4M, he has been a bargain for everything he brought to that franchise, which cannot be overestimated.  Yes, he earned some incentives and escalators, but he was still a bargain, especially after playing for a third of what Favre, the player he was essentially traded for, made this season.

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers – Speaking of Favre, the Packers had made a commitment to Rodgers soon after Brett retired and were intent on keeping it to a player they have been high on since he was drafted in 2005.  I told people for three years that the Packers would be fine at quarterback after Favre left.  Aaron received a strong contract from the Packers, with $65M over 6 1/2 years and $20M guaranteed, but that deal will not look as strong after the deals that Eli Manning and Philip Rivers are certain to get before next season.

Mewelde Moore, Pittsburgh Steelers – I always liked Moore when we played against him when he was with the Vikings.  He signed a three-year deal with the Steelers in March for under $5M and proved to be a godsend after injuries to Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall.  Even though the Steelers brought back old friend Najeh Davenport for a while, Moore was a key performer for one of the league’s top teams, rushing for 588 yards and 4.2 yards per carry.  A good bargain signing.

Michael Roos/David Stewart, Tennessee Titans – The Titans locked up both of their young starting tackles with six-year deals worth $43M, with $15M guaranteed (Roos), and $39M, with $10M guaranteed (Stewart).  While the contracts were certainly not below market, they soon will be, and now the Titans are set at these important positions.  Roos and Stewart blocked for two running backs who ranked third and 13^th in the AFC in rushing. The Titans also led the AFC in rushing touchdowns and allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL, protecting Kerry Collins, hardly a mobile quarterback.  The Titans, who have been trying unsuccessfully to sign Albert Haynesworth to a long-term deal, also deserve mention for locking up one of the rising young cornerbacks in the league, Cortland Finnegan, to a four-year, $16.8M contract with a $6M bonus in August. The deal is a far cry from what Finnegan would have earned had he waited, considering recent mega-contracts signed by Corey Webster of the Giants and Chris Gamble of the Panthers.

Honorable mention goes to the Falcons’ signing of Michael Turner.  Although there is ample evidence against overpaying running backs in their second contracts, Atlanta hit on Turner, whose lack of wear and tear playing behind LaDainian Tomlinson obviously was apparent.  While I thought the six-year, $34.5M deal, with $15M guaranteed, was excessive at the time, Turner and the Falcons proved this wrong.

Worst Signings

Javon Walker, Oakland Raiders – I know Javon well and will keep most of my impressions to myself, but there were multiple reasons a team should not have overpaid here.  Foremost among them was an injury history that started in the first game of the 2005 season when Javon went down with an extremely serious knee injury.  That knee has not completely recovered.  Javon looks the part but doesn’t play it.  He made $13M from the Raiders this year for 15 catches, about $867,000 per catch.  The Raiders made some questionable signings this offseason – Tommy Kelly and DeAngelo Hall among them – but this topped the list.

Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys – It was one thing to give up a first-round draft pick to the Lions for Williams, as valuable a currency as there is in the NFL.  It was another to drastically overpay the player they got in return for the pick.  There have been questions about Williams’ work ethic for years, even though his extraordinary talent is unquestioned.  Now a player with a questionable work ethic is guaranteed $14M in a new contract.  The Cowboys gave up what has turned out to be the 20^th pick in the draft for a luxury item they hardly used.

Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys – Owens had one year left on his contract, is 35 years old and is notorious for being high maintenance.  What was the need to reward him with another $13M guaranteed and four additional years?  Were the Cowboys worried he might repeating his behavior with the Eagles and demand a new contract?  If so, that would be the worst way to handle it, signaling to the locker room that squeaky wheels will get the grease. Like the Raiders, the Cowboys had a run on overpaying players this year, but the receivers they overpaid are at the top of the list.

Jerry Porter, Jacksonville Jaguars  -- Sensing a theme here?  Yes, there’s a graveyard full of bad deals given to wide receivers, the true divas of the NFL.  Porter, a player the Raiders did not want back (which should tell you something), signed with the Jaguars on the first day of free agency for six years and $30M, with $10M guaranteed.  He had 11 catches this season for the Jaguars while earning close to $7.5M, or about $680,000 a catch.  There have been some changes in the Jaguars’ personnel staff, with this signing likely costing someone their job.

Ernest Wilford, Miami Dolphins – Yes, another wide receiver.  And this one might be the worst of all, considering his statistical contribution.  Wilford signed a four-year deal worth $13M with a $6M bonus and had three catches in 2008 while earning $7M, a whopping $2.33M per catch.  Sorry to rain on the Dolphins’ parade, but the bargain they received with Pennington is tempered by this bust of a signing, a player as far down the depth chart as one can go without being off it.

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