Oakland Raiders: 5 Of The Worst Free Agent Signings In Team History

Aug 22, 2014; Green Bay, WI, USA; A Oakland Raiders helmet sits on the field during warmups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Raiders, like every other team in the league, has made some truly horrid mistakes that they wish everybody would just forget. But sometimes, those mistakes really are so horrid that they never should be forgotten – if for no other reason, than to serve as a cautionary tale.

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In this case, we’re talking about some truly horrid decision making in the front office with regard to signing free agents. Sure, signing a free agent, no matter who it is, will always be a gamble. There will always be some huge free agent busts who never live up to the contracts they signed. And the Raiders most certainly have their fair share of those.

Over the last fifteen years or so, the Raiders all too often became enamored with a guy who put up a big game on a big stage. And instead of considering their whole body of work over their time in the league, the Raiders – and by the Raiders, we mean to say the late Al Davis – was quick to pull the trigger on a deal and throw a ton of cash at some of these flash in the pans players who then, shock of all shocks, failed to produce.

It was, unfortunately, a common theme of Davis’ later years – vastly overpaying for players who had a good few games when it mattered most, were well past their prime, or did something spectacular on a big stage. And more times than not, it came back to bite him in the butt.

Though this could be a very lengthy list, we’ve opted to narrow it down to five of the worst free agent signings in Raiders history. Obviously, there will be some worthy of making it onto this dubious list, so feel free to chime in with your suggestions in the comments section.

Though we can debate who else should be included on this list, there really should be no debate about these five players who were among the worst free agent signings in Raiders history.

Next: Dishonorable Mention