Top 10 Worst Roster Moves Of 2024

As we turn the calendar to 2025, we’re looking back at the 2024 season. Last week we looked at the 10 best roster moves of the season. Today it’s time to look at the ten worst. 

10 – Rams signed G Jonah Jackson, three years $51M

The Rams double-tapped the guard position in free agency and Jackson was the second salvo, inking a deal worth $17 million a year (a top 10 salary at the guard position) and $25 million fully guaranteed in the first year of the deal. It was a hefty investment and a signal that the Rams wanted to ensure they were strong up front to protect QB Matthew Stafford and open lanes for RB Kyren Williams. 

Los Angeles planned to move promising second-year G Steve Avila to center to make room for Jackson and G Kevin Dotson, who they re-signed to a deal worth $16 million per year to give them two of the top-10 highest-paid guards. But the Rams abruptly switched plans late in training camp and started mixing Jackson in at center. He played both positions in the first two games before going down with a broken scapula and missing weeks on injured reserve. 

In the meantime, Avila moved back to guard and continued his progress, while sixth-round C Beaux Limmer proved to be a solid fill-in at center. Jackson returned from injured reserve and got the start at center in a dismal Week 10 loss to the Dolphins, and since then he’s been shelved outside of this past Sunday when the Rams rested as many starters as possible — certainly not the way both Jackson and the Rams envisioned things going back in March. 

Jackson’s $9 million 2025 base salary becomes guaranteed in mid-March shortly after the start of the league year, so it’s possible the Rams look to cut or trade Jackson before then. 

9 – Bears traded a 2024 fourth-round pick for Chargers WR Keenan Allen

Chicago flipped a fourth-rounder to the Chargers for Allen, as Los Angeles was looking to unload the veteran wideout’s $20 million salary. The Bears had cap room to burn this year and thought Allen would be a reliable veteran target for first-round QB Caleb Williams. He did indeed finish second on the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards (narrowly) and led the Bears with seven receiving touchdowns. His final line was 121 targets, 70 catches and 744 yards. 

That’s not a good return on a $20 million investment. Allen had moments, particularly in the red zone, but more often than not he looked his age at 32 years old. There’s a case to be made that having him be such a big part of the offense was a net negative. Allen wasn’t an efficient player in 2024. His success rate of 45.8 percent, catch percentage of 56.8 percent and yards per target of 6.1 were all career lows and ranked 118th, 168th and 153rd among all NFL pass catchers in 2024. 

On top of that, the emphasis on Allen hurt the entire Bears receiving corps because it prevented D.J. Moore and first-rounder Rome Odunze from playing roles that maximized their skillsets until halfway through the year. Allen has been at his best as a slot receiver but at this stage of his career his only viable path to production is out of the slot. That’s also where Moore and Odunze do their best work — Moore as a physical run-after-catch player and Odunze as a skilled route runner who’s more dynamic than Allen even if there were some rookie growing pains this year. 

There are a lot of reasons to think the Bears will be better in the passing game in 2025, and Allen likely not being back should be one of them, strange as it sounds. 

8 – Jaguars signed WR Gabriel Davis, three years $39M

Jacksonville’s had some success in free agency the past few years but the Davis deal is not looking like it will be counted among the hits. Davis got two of the three years he signed for guaranteed, including $11.5 million in 2025. That essentially locks him onto the roster because the Jaguars will be paying him no matter what. 

If Davis had the impact the team hoped for, it wouldn’t be an issue. But his 20 catches for 239 yards and two scores in 10 games before going down with an injury were easily a career worst. Jacksonville will have a new coaching staff and front office (most likely) this offseason, and ordinarily that would be curtains for Davis. But they’ll be stuck with the previous regime’s mistake. 

7 – 49ers, Cowboys & Bengals not locking up their receivers sooner

It was another good year to be a receiver with a wave of big deals this past offseason. The 49ers, Cowboys and Bengals all handed out massive sums to their star wideouts. Cincinnati franchised WR Tee Higgins for $21.8 million in 2024, while WR CeeDee Lamb signed a four-year, $136 million contract with Dallas and WR Brandon Aiyuk inked a four-year, $120 million pact with San Francisco. 

But all of those teams hurt themselves with how they dragged out negotiations. Dallas knew the parameters of what the Lamb deal would look like when Vikings WR Justin Jefferson signed his record-setting deal in early June. Instead, the Cowboys waited until the eve of the season to sign Lamb, costing him valuable practice time with the offense in camp. It showed early in the season and played a role in the team’s slow start to the year. 

Something similar played out with the 49ers and Aiyuk, only much more publicly and contentiously throughout the summer. The two sides were close to a deal before the market moved abruptly and the picture changed. The 49ers also have a long history of playing hardball in these types of negotiations before relenting at the last minute, and that’s exactly how things played out with more drama than usual. Aiyuk hit the markers he was looking for in a deal that could have been done in June instead of the end of August. 

Naturally Aiyuk needed time to ramp back up after missing all of camp and OTAs. He didn’t top 50 receiving yards until October, which hurt extra because the 49ers didn’t have RB Christian McCaffrey to start the year and had WR Deebo Samuel get banged up early on. Aiyuk exploded for 147 receiving yards in Week 5, then tore his ACL in Week 7, leaving 2024 as a massive missed opportunity. 

It just does not pay to wait on these kinds of deals, and the Bengals are about to find that out. Cincinnati never engaged Higgins’ camp in contract talks beyond just notifying him about the tag. At the time, there was a report that Higgins would have been willing to sign for something similar to what the Texans gave WR Nico Collins (three years, $72.75 million, $24 million a year). That would be a huge discount over what Higgins would command as a free agent in March if he reaches the open market, likely in the range of $27 million to $30 million a year.

Higgins has new representation, signing on with fellow Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase’s agent, and he, Chase and QB Joe Burrow have all been vocal about wanting to preserve their trio in Cincinnati, but there’s only so much money Higgins can responsibly leave on the table. Burrow has been stumping for the front office to retain Higgins weekly to close the year, and to keep their quarterback happy and bought in, the Bengals might have to pay up — more than they would have to keep the same player a year ago. 

I won’t ding the Bengals as much for not getting Chase signed last year, as his deal would have been more in the spectrum of Jefferson, but the fact remains the Bengals could have proactively gotten all three players locked up this past year, and yesterday’s price is not going to be tomorrow’s price. 

6 – Eagles signed DE Bryce Huff, three years $51M 

Eagles GM Howie Roseman is seen as one of the sharpest front office leads in football but no one is infallible and Roseman had a few bad misses this year. A preseason trade with the Commanders for WR Jahan Dotson in which the Eagles gave up a third-round pick was considered for this list, but ultimately lost to the Huff signing. Roseman targeted Huff to replace DE Haason Reddick, who makes an appearance later on in the list. The idea was to get a player with a similar skillset to Reddick who was younger and cheaper than the deal Reddick was seeking. 

So far it’s been a big flop. Huff wanted to leave the Jets as a free agent to prove he could be an every-down defensive end after making his name largely as a situational rusher his first four years. The Eagles signed him to a deal that suggested they thought he could make that leap. He has not. Huff has struggled to earn snaps or play effectively on first and second down, and he has just 2.5 sacks this year after hitting 10 in 2023. 

Unfortunately the Eagles are locked into this contract for another season, as Huff has $16.75 million already guaranteed for the 2025 season. Short of eating some of that to facilitate a trade, there’s nothing the Eagles can do apart from trying to find a role where Huff can contribute more than he did this past season. 

5 – Falcons signed QB Kirk Cousins, four years, $180M with $90M guaranteed

At the end of the day, I have less of a problem with the Falcons signing Cousins than I do everything they did after that. The selection of first-round QB Michael Penix Jr. undercut Cousins from the jump and rightfully blindsided the veteran, as most teams who invest that much in a passer would have used the No. 8 pick to add to his supporting cast, either on offense or defense. 

Perhaps Cousins as a professional should have had thicker skin, but that’s just not who he’s been throughout his career. He’s always been a player who spends a ton of time in his own head, good and bad. Cousins’ best seasons have come with coaches who empowered him and made him feel supported. It’s clear that didn’t happen in Atlanta, especially with the way Cousins’ play deteriorated as the season went on. 

In a slight defense of the Falcons, the way they handled the quarterback position this offseason did give them two shots at finding a solution at quarterback instead of just one. But they also just paid $90 million for 14 underwhelming starts from Cousins because they thought they were smarter than the conventional thinking. It’s impossible to give that outcome a positive grade even if the signing made tons of sense at the time. 

4 – Titans traded a 2025 third-round pick for Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed

Even though the Titans were rebuilding and outside expectations were low, Tennessee was one of the most active teams in the offseason. The majority of those moves unfortunately did not pan out and the Titans just earned the No. 1 pick, underperforming even the meager preseason expectations. There’s a lot to criticize but the trade for Sneed has aged the worst so far. 

Tennessee gave up what ended up being the top pick of the third round (No. 65 overall) and a $76 million contract, $44 million of it guaranteed, for just five games of Sneed. When he was on the field, Sneed was a shadow of his former self, recording no picks or pass knockdowns and getting picked on by opposing offenses. 

It was just an awful evaluation of the situation by the Titans and GM Ran Carthon. The veteran dealt with a knee injury that the Chiefs managed for the last year or two he was in Kansas City, and both the Titans and Sneed claimed it wouldn’t be an issue in 2024. They were wrong. Carthon also paid too much for the right to pay Sneed when the Chiefs tagged the player without real intentions of signing him to a long-term deal. 

Now he’s locked into $19 million guaranteed for a 28-year-old cornerback with a balky knee in 2025. Combined with some of Carthon’s other misses this past year, and it’s understandable that he’s starting to feel some heat around his job security. 

3 – Any team acquiring WR Diontae Johnson

Johnson has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the league’s most traveled players, as his stint with the Texans marks his fourth team in 2024. The Steelers traded him to the Panthers for remarkably little considering Johnson’s reputation, just a late-round pick swap and CB Donte Jackson who the Panthers would probably have cut otherwise to save money. Johnson had some good moments but very quickly wore out his welcome in Carolina. The Panthers dumped him midseason to the Ravens for less than they paid for him — just a swap of picks between the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth. 

Remarkably Carolina still got the better end of that trade despite eating the bulk of Johnson’s remaining salary. Johnson hardly played for the Ravens and did not factor into their receiving corps at all. His frustrations with that were obvious and culminated in a suspension for refusing to enter a game. Baltimore later cut him and he was claimed by the Texans. It remains to be seen how that will work out to Houston’s detriment. 

The end result of this whole situation is it’s been made abundantly clear why Johnson’s trade market has been so cool each time he’s been made available. Some players may be capable contributors on the field but not worth the negative impact on team chemistry and in the locker room. A few teams had to learn that lesson with Johnson this year. 

2 – Jets traded a 2025 third-round pick for Raiders WR Davante Adams

The Jets have the distinction of securing the top two spots on this list — one final accomplishment for former GM Joe Douglas, owner Woody Johnson or his son Brick Johnson, whoever is making the decisions in New York. The buzz connecting New York to Adams was persistent for a year with the pull of a reunion with QB Aaron Rodgers. But like everything with Rodgers and the Jets, the idea was better on paper than reality. Rodgers and Adams showed they still had a solid connection, especially in December once the rust was knocked off. Adams had 61 catches on 102 targets for 766 yards and six scores in 10 games with the Jets. 

The production was solid but the efficiency was less so and the end result was a 2-8 record after the trade. For the cost of a third-round pick and over $10 million in cash, that’s not a good return. It’s also worth mentioning the Jets’ signing of WR Mike Williams to a one-year, $10 million deal that didn’t pan out. New York traded Williams after nine games and 12 catches. 

1 – Jets traded a 2026 third-round pick for Eagles DE Haason Reddick

While the Jets at least got some production out of the trade for Adams, there is nothing redeeming about their offseason trade for Reddick, either from the process or the results. Needing to replace Huff after he left in free agency, the Jets sent a third-rounder to Philadelphia for Reddick who was openly angling for a new deal that the Eagles weren’t going to give him. 

Most of the time when teams trade for players who are available because of their contract situation, some sort of new deal or understanding is worked out ahead of time. That didn’t happen between the Jets and Reddick and it’s still not exactly clear how. The end result was the Jets giving up a premium draft pick to become responsible for another organization’s headache. 

The Jets also didn’t become aware of how entrenched in his stance Reddick was until after the draft and after they’d cleared space by trading away DL John Franklin-Myers to the Broncos, thinning their rotation even more. Reddick held out through OTAs, training camp and through a big chunk of the season, costing himself millions of dollars. It was emotional and prideful decision-making by Reddick that wasn’t business-savvy — but it hurt the Jets too. 

The two sides eventually resolved their standoff but by that point New York’s season was halfway down the drain and Reddick was hopelessly behind after having participated in no football activities since January. He had just half a sack entering Week 18 and 11 total tackles in nine games. Douglas the former GM made plenty of errors in his time running the Jets, but the Reddick trade might go down as one of his worst.