The crowd simultaneously sighs as the same player made a bad play once again. First, it’s a dropped catch, second, it’s a fumble, and last, there are also criminal charges on this guy. What could possibly be worse than watching that every Sunday?
“What makes a bad NFL player bad?” might be something you think when sports announcers talk about a player’s bad performance. But what actually makes them a bad player? Well, criminal charges, constant bad performances, high inconsistency, and behavioral issues are all key factors that make an NFL player bad. An NFL can also be bad even if he’s got a multi-hundred-million dollar contract on his plate. Deshaun Watson, an NFL Quarterback who plays for the Cleveland Browns, is a great example of a bad player (in criminal circumstances) who gets paid a huge amount. The Browns trading for him in 2022 from the Houston Texans has gone down as one of the worst trades in NFL history, the main reason being: he’s not a good person and he is injury prone; he is currently out from a torn Achilles he suffered in the 2024 NFL season.
Categories you could separate different players in due to the different things they do in the league are: criminal charges, terrible performances, inconsistency, behavioral issues on and off the field, using performance enhancement drugs, faked injuries, and neurodegenerative illnesses like CTE, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which can later on in life can cause death.
The number of players in the NFL that are genuinely bad is kind of crazy. Players that are currently playing in the NFL right now might even make the list for worst players in history because of how bad they’re proving themselves to be. The number one guy on my list for worst players right now in the NFL is:
JJ McCarthy. (Click on link to see lowlights). This guy came from the University of Michigan and won a national title with them in 2023, was the 10th overall draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft, tore his meniscus in the 2024 pre-season, is a complete bust, AND is making $21.85 million dollars over four years. This article states that: “McCarthy has been a negative variable for his team’s success every time he drops back.” This quote explains that not only can some random guy that watches the NFL for fun say that JJ McCarthy is a mythical QB bust, but even fans of the Minnesota Vikings and players for the Vikings have grown annoyed by the fact that he was a starting quarterback almost half of the season already. His overall season stats so far are 929 passing yards (37th), 6 TD passes (tied 34th), 10 INT (tied 76th), his QB rating is 24.1, and his completion percentage is 54.1% which is below the standards of a starting QB.
The second and last guy that’s on the list for worst NFL players right now is another quarterback:
Dillon Gabriel. This guy can’t throw for more than 30 yards and got drafted from the University of Oregon. and was a starter for the Cleveland Browns this season before getting a concussion propelling Sheduer Sanders into the starting role. Dillon Gabriel was drafted 94th overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft. His current NFL stats for this season are: 937 passing yards (36th), 7 TD passes (tied 31st), 2 INT (tied 40th), his QB rating is 30.9, and his completion percentage is 59.5% which is better than JJ McCarthy but not by too much. Dillon Gabriel has thrown a lot of passes that were short of the players he was throwing to and that’s one of the main reasons he’s considered one of the worst quarterbacks in the league right now.
Now, the worst players of all time that were consistently terrible on the field are:
- 5. Bob Timberlake: Bob Timberlake played as a kicker in the NFL for The New York Giants in the 1965 NFL season and played college football with the Michigan Wolverines from 1962-1964. According to a bleacher report article “The 100 Worst Players in NFL History”, Bob Timberlake kicked 15 field goals and only made one the entire season. The article then states “On the bright side, he made 21 of his 22 extra-point attempts.” which isn’t bad for a rookie kicker. But the field goals that were missed plays a big part of him being in the top five. Usually, kickers that miss less than 15 field goals a season don’t even make it close to playing in the NFL. Let alone a good college team either. Times are different.
- 4. Rocky Thompson: Rocky Thompson was a running back that also played for The New York Giants 1971-1973 and played college football for West Texas State. He played 29 games, and his overall stats come out to be 68 carries for 217 yards and one touchdown which comes out to be 3.19 yards per carry. In 2 seasons this guy had one career NFL touchdown. Running backs usually average like 7-9 touchdowns a season. Possibly more than that I’m not sure if I’m accurate on that information. Rocky Thompson also only caught 16 passes for 85 yards in his entire career which means he averaged 5.31 receiving yards when he caught the ball those 16 times.
- 3. Ryan Leaf: Ryan Leaf was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers 1998-2000 and Dallas Cowboys in 2001 and played college football for Washington State 1994-1997. Ryan Leaf was projected to be the number one pick in the NFL draft that year, but the Colts took Peyton Manning instead of Ryan Leaf which left Leaf to go to the Chargers. He had won his first two games that season for San Diego but then was “seen berating a reporter in the locker room” Bleacher Report stated. Ryan Leaf went on to win four of his fourteen starts for San Diego and threw 33 interceptions and 13 touchdowns, his move to Dallas didn’t change his performance.
- 2. Rusty Lisch: Rusty Lisch was a quarterback for the St. Louis Cardinals 1980-83, and the Chicago Bears in 1984 and played college football for Notre Dame from 1976-1979. He had 115 throwing attempts and only throwing one touchdown and 11 interceptions. In his first career start “he was so bad on that day (10-of-23 for 99 yards and an INT) that head coach Mike Dikta replaced him with Walter Payton. Imagine that: your rookie year as an NFL quarterback and you’re so bad you get benched. Your first career as a starter ever!
- 1. Jamarcus Russell: Jamarcus Russell was a quarterback for the Oakland Raiders 2007-2009 and played college football for LSU from 2003-2006. No one really believed there was going to ever be a bigger draft bust than Rusty Lisch, “Leave it up for Jamarcus Russell to change our mind.” Bleacher Report stated. Apparently, when he took his $32 million dollar contract he was out of shape when he showed up to training camp. He was cut after three seasons with the Raiders and only winning 7 games out of the 25 he started in. He got cut because he threw 23 interceptions, lost 15 fumbles, his completion percentage was 52.1% and his passer rating was 65.2%. His terrible on-field performances continued somehow off the field when he got arrested in July 2010.
Although an NFL player can be absolutely terrible on the field, there are some plays that are terrible off the field too.
- 5. Robert McCune: Robert McCune bounced from team-to-team, and country-to-country it seems like. He was a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Calgary Stampeders (Canadian football team), and the Toronto Argonauts (Canadian football team). On February 9, 2022, he was sentenced to five years in prison for health care fraud. Apparently, he was accused of taking advantage of the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Reimbursement Account Plan, which is a benefit provider to retired NFL athletes. He sent fraudulent claims to the plan that had his name on it and also names of other NFL players.
- 4. Ray Lewis: Ray Lewis was a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens 1996-2012, was inducted into the Hall of Fame and is considered one of the best linebackers of our generation. But a year before he played in the Super Bowl XXXV, him and his friends were involved in a fight with two men at a Super Bowl XXXIV party. The two men that Ray Lewis and his friends were in a fight with ended up being stabbed and killed. Days after the party, Ray Lewis and his friends were indicted for the murders, Ray Lewis ended up testifying against his friends and his charges were dropped.
- 3. Aaron Hernandez: Aaron Hernandez was one of the greater tight ends that played in the NFL at the time but was diagnosed with CTE from the sport and it caused him to act very maliciously. He played for the New England Patriots with Tom Brady from 2010-2012. On April 19, 2015, Aaron Hernandez was found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment for a homicide. Investigators later found out that he was guilty of two more murders. In April of 2017, he was found deceased in his prison cell after a suicide.
- 2. Kellen Winslow: Kellen Winslow was the highest paid tight end for the San Diego Chargers in the NFL at the time 1979-1987. In March 2021, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of sexual assault against five women. Not really much I can say on this one, just the fact that he’s a terrible person.
- 1. O.J. Simpson: You could probably guess he’s at the top of the list; this guy really was not a good person. O.J. Simpson was an elite running back that played for the Buffalo Bills, and San Francisco 49ers 1969-1977. In 1994 he was arrested and charged for the murders of his ex-wife, and her friend. He somehow got away with them the first time before being arrested again in 2007 and charged with felonies like armed robbery and kidnapping. Then, in 2008 he was finally convicted to 33 years in prison, with a minimum of nine years without parole. He was released on parole in 2017. (Fun fact: OJ Simpson is still in the NFL Hall of Fame).
Now you can see the bad parts of NFL players, even if it’s just performance. But if you look at both and question which of them would be the worst for the team not the player, this might be the rank order.
- 5. Robert McCune: Robert McCune’s use of advantage and fraudulent claims toward a healthcare provider for retired NFL athletes really does numbers on your team or former team. Robert used his former teammates names on fraudulent claims as well which could be bad for the team or the organization of the team. They could get backlash or questions on how they let it happen.
- 4. Ray Lewis: Ray Lewis’ altercation with two men that led to deaths and a court date at a Super Bowl XXXIV party a year before he played in the Super Bowl can really take a toll on the team because at the time Ray Lewis was the star guy for the Baltimore Ravens, then he goes and commits a crime. That’s bad reputation for him and his team.
- 3. Rocky Thompson: Rocky Thompson’s unbelievably bad career affected his team ultimately because he was a running back that has only ever scored one NFL touchdown in all the games he played. Running backs in the NFL are honestly one of the most important guys on the team due to their role of gaining yards and touchdowns. Your team automatically counts on you if you’re playing one of the main roles on a football team. 68 carries for 217 yards is something an NFL running back now could do in 2-3 possibly 4 weeks if the team runs the ball normally.
- 2. Rusty Lisch: Rusty Lisch’s 115 passing attempts for one touchdown and 11 interceptions is not a great start as a rookie in the NFL. Him also being considered as the worst draft bust in NFL history also takes the cake and can affect your team. If you can’t lead your team to success and wins on the field, what are you going to be able to lead them to off the field? Quarterback at an NFL level is a skill level that most college quarterbacks don’t have and being drafted in the NFL is a privilege itself but also being good at your job in the NFL is something most can’t do and that seems to apply to Rusty Lisch’s career.
- 1. Jamarcus Russell: The same thing goes for Jamarcus Russell that went for Rusty Lisch, but Jamarcus Russell was projected to be a crazy good quarterback. People would say that there was no way he could be a worse draft bust than Rusty Lisch, but it turns out he was. He won 7 out of 25 NFL games he started which is two seasons. If that doesn’t speak for itself, then I’m not sure what does. It really affects your team if you are the starting quarterback and can’t throw or at least throw to the right team because your team automatically counts on you to help win games and possibly be a good enough leader to lead your team to playoff contention or a Super Bowl
While most NFL players are good people, the bad ones are some of the worst people you can think of. Maybe the NFL should take a better look at these players’ rep sheets next time…
