NFL Free Agency: 30 worst free agency signings this century
By Randy Gurzi
28. player. 53. . QB. Cleveland Browns. Jeff Garcia
28. Worst NFL free agency signings this century: Jeff Garcia
No team has suffered as much at the quarterback spot as the Cleveland Browns have. Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the franchise has swung and missed more times than any other. Many of their tries have been in the draft. Names like Tim Couch, Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel and DeShone Kizer have all come through and failed to become stars.
Not all their misses were draft picks, though. The Browns also tried to add free agents to throw a band-aid on the problem as well. That was the case in 2004 when they gave three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia a four-year contract.
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Garcia started his NFL career late, as he spent five seasons in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders before the San Francisco 49ers gave him a shot.
He joined them in 1999 and ended up being the primary starter the next five seasons, making the Pro Bowl in 2002 through 2004. Garcia was released after the 2003 season when he had shown signs of declining.
That’s when Cleveland came calling, as they desperately overpaid for a 34-year old quarterback. The results were bad, as Garcia had just three wins in 10 starts before again being released in the offseason.
Making things feel even worse for the Browns, Garcia went on to have a career resurgence. He spent one disappointing season with the Detroit Lions before joining the Philadelphia Eagles as a backup.
He was forced into action for six starts and went 5-1. Garcia then spent the next two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he led them to a 14-10 record as the starter. He also made his fourth career Pro Bowl at age 37 for the Buccaneers.