Top 15 worst free agent signings in NFL history

13. Jeff Garcia, QB, Cleveland Browns

The deal: 4 years, $25 million

Jeff Garcia had a cool factor about him as a member of the San Francisco 49ers in the early 2000s. Garcia, to his credit, is one of the most decorated professional football players of all time. His career just wasn’t always in the NFL.

Actually, Garcia was a four-time All-Star in the Canadian Football League before he started any NFL games at the age of 29. When he got to the NFL, he wasted little time making a major impact on the 49ers’ offense.

Back when the NFL was still very much a league dominated by running backs, Garcia became one of a very slight few quarterbacks to have back-to-back seasons with more than 30 touchdown passes (2000, 2001). He went from being a Grey Cup MVP and on top of the CFL to almost immediately becoming a household name in the NFL.

He spent five years with the 49ers organization, the meat of which was rather successful. In his fifth season, however, at the age of 33, the 49ers were just 7-9 and decided to make changes. Garcia hit free agency and wound up signing with the Cleveland Browns to a four-year deal worth $25 million.

Injuries limited Garcia to just 11 games and 10 starts as a member of the Browns where he completed only 57.1 percent of his passes, the worst of his NFL career. His 3.6 interception rate was the highest of any of his stops in the NFL as well.

His time with the Browns lasted just one year before he signed in Detroit the following offseason. After being benched in Detroit, Garcia once again changed teams the next year and went to play for Andy Reid in Philadelphia. As was the case for many QBs under Reid, Garcia shined.

He was in the running for comeback player of the year after Donovan McNabb went down with a season-ending injury, forcing Garcia into the lineup. He parlayed his backup work in Philadelphia into the full-time starting role with the Bucs the next year, where he made the Pro Bowl.