The 100 Worst Players in NFL History

Brian Wright

In late 2010, the NFL Network showcased their list of the 100 greatest players in league history, with Jerry Rice edging out Jim Brown for the top honor.

While determining a ranking for the all-time legends of the game can be done by measuring each individual's breadth of excellence, figuring out the worst players ever is far from an exact science.

These are not just players who were lousy—they were notably bad.

Many are failures of what was thought to be immense talent. All of the 100 presented were incredibly inadequate on a professional football field.

100. Joey Harrington

QB; Detroit Lions 2002-05, Miami Dolphins 2006, Atlanta Falcons 2007

Remember when the University of Oregon put him on a billboard in Times Square promoting his candidacy to win the Heisman Trophy?

That didn't work, and neither did his NFL career.

Harrington lost nearly twice as many games as he won and threw a league-leading 22 interceptions in 2003.

99. Peter Warrick

WR; Cincinnati Bengals 2000-04, Seattle Seahawks 2005

After graduating from "Free Shoes University" (aka Florida State University), Warrick never posted more than 667 receiving yards in his first three years with Cincinnati.

He was then injured in 2004 and slowly drifted away.

He has played in four different football leagues since 2007.

98. Roosevelt Potts

RB; Indianapolis Colts 1993-97, Miami Dolphins 1997, Baltimore Ravens 1998

Potts finished the 1993 campaign with 711 yards on the ground.

That would prove to be the high-water mark. His career concluded with a grand total of one rushing TD.

97. Kyle Boller

QB; Baltimore Ravens 2003-07, St. Louis Rams 2009, Oakland Raiders 2010-present

If last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs didn't convince you that Boller is incapable of being a legit quarterback then nothing will.

96. Bucky Dilts

P; Denver Broncos 1977-78, Baltimore Colts 1979

His punts averaged a length of 37.9 yards. Dilts' lone rushing attempt resulted in a loss of 14 yards.


95. Rick Norton

QB; Miami Dolphins 1966-69, Green Bay Packers 1970

He has the honor of being the first quarterback in Miami Dolphins history. Now he has this “honor.”

The Dolphins didn’t have talent yet, and Norton was one of those lacking in that category.

94. Wendell Bryant

DT; Arizona Cardinals 2002-04

Bryant played in 29 games over three seasons.

The 12th-overall pick was released after the team learned he would be suspended for a year for substance abuse violations.

He had 28 career tackles and 1.5 sacks to his name, along with drug and alcohol issues.

93. Curtis Enis

RB; Chicago Bears 1998-00

After a fine career at Penn State, it was three-and-out for Enis in the pros. The eighth-overall pick in the '98 draft underachieved tremendously.

92. Byron Hanspard

RB-KR; Atlanta Falcons 1997, 1999

The undersized back totaled 3.8 yards per carry in his two NFL seasons.

His lone bright spot was a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown in 1999.

91. Tony Mandarich

OL; Green Bay Packers 1989-91, Indianapolis Colts 1996-98

The Packers passed up Barry Sanders and Deion Sanders to take the uber-hyped offensive lineman from Michigan State.

Mandarich battled injures as well as drug and alcohol problems through three seasons in Green Bay.

90. Ken Grandberry

RB; Chicago Bears 1974

He came after Gale Sayers and before Walter Payton—and he wasn't 1/1000th as good as either one of them.

89. Bruce Mathison

QB; San Diego Chargers 1983-84 and 1986, Buffalo Bills 1985, Seattle Seahawks 1987

Drudging his way through three teams in five seasons, Mathison had a career record 2-7 as a starting signal-caller.

In 1985, he threw 14 interceptions in seven games for the Bills.

88. Browning Nagle

QB; New York Jets 1991-93, Indianapolis Colts 1994, Atlanta Falcons 1996

Nagle was tabbed the starting QB on Opening Day 1992.

He had arguably his best passing game in his debut but suffered mightily throughout the rest of that year with a completion percentage of less than 50 percent.

87. Drew Henson

QB; Dallas Cowboys 2004-05, Detroit Lions 2008

The former baseball prospect whiffed big time in the NFL.

In his only start with the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day 2004, Henson went 4-of-12 for 31 passing yards in the first half before being removed.

In 2005, he fell to third on the club's depth chart.

86. Aundray Bruce

LB-DE-TE; Atlanta Falcons 1988-91, Oakland Raiders 1992-98

The top pick in a weak draft, Bruce was a physical freak that wound up playing 11 professional seasons, but he failed to live up to the hype as "the next Lawrence Taylor."

85. Tim Couch

QB; Cleveland Browns 1999-03

An over-hyped prospect out of the University of Kentucky, Couch was overwhelmed as he took the starting reigns of the expansion version of the Browns in 1999.

84. Eric Curry

DE; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1993-97, Jacksonville Jaguars 1998-99

The Bucs hoped they were getting player that would follow in the footsteps of Lee Roy Selmon.

Suffice it to say, that never happened.

Curry had 12 sacks in five seasons with Tampa Bay, then played two pedestrian seasons with Jacksonville.

83. Joe Pisarcik

QB; New York Giants 1977-79, Philadelphia Eagles 1980-84

It’s bad enough that he was a part of one of the great blunders in NFL history.

Now he’s on this list thanks to 18 TDs and 43 INTs as a member of the Giants.

After 1979, Pisarcik went to the Eagles, the same team that was the benefactor of “The Miracle at the Meadowlands.”

82. Dave Brown

QB; New York Giants 1992-97, Arizona Cardinals 1998-01

Brown was another less-than-stellar quarterback for the Giants, with a completion percentage of 54.6.

He also threw 58 interceptions in 73 games.

81. Troy Williamson

WR; Minnesota Vikings 2005-07, Jacksonville Jaguars 2008-09

His play at the University of South Carolina resulted in the Vikings taking him seventh overall in the 2005 draft.

His play with Minnesota resulted in plenty of headaches.

Williamson had just three touchdowns in his three seasons with the Vikes.

He did even less in Jacksonville, making eight catches.

80. Michael Booker

CB; Atlanta Falcons 1997-99, Tennessee Titans 2000-01

Booker made 10 starts with the Falcons and Titans, retiring in short order after he admitted that he didn't enjoy playing in the NFL.

79. Ryan Sims

DT; Kansas City Chiefs 2002-06, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2007-10

The sixth-overall pick in 2002, Sims had 54 tackles and five sacks in 74 games as a member of the Chiefs.

He was traded to the Bucs prior to the '07 campaign, and his career fell even further. In the four seasons with Tampa Bay, Sims recorded a total of four sacks.

78. Russell Erxleben

P; New Orleans Saints 1979-83, Detroit Lions 1987

It's hard to fathom that the Saints would use the 11th-overall pick on a punter.

Erxleben lasted five seasons, in which time he never had a punting average higher than 35.2.

77. Quincy Carter

QB; Dallas Cowboys 2001-03, New York Jets 2004

Carter was certainly not polished enough to be an NFL quarterback, especially under Bill Parcells.

He completed 56 percent of his passes, throwing for more picks (37) than TDs (31). He finished in obscurity with the Jets in 2004.

76. C.C. Brown

DB; Houston Texans 2005-08, New York Giants 2009, Detroit Lions 2010

In his defense, he was a low-round draft pick that somehow found teams that needed a defensive back.

Too bad he had trouble keeping up with receivers. He had three career interceptions, all coming as a member of the Texans.

75. Frank Tripucka

QB; Detroit Lions 1949, Chicago Cardinals 1950-52, Dallas Texans 1952, Denver Broncos 1960-63

A regular producer of interceptions, Tripucka threw 124 picks over the course of eight seasons.

His inaccuracy also showed in his 50.4 completion rate.

74. Carl Smith

FB; Buffalo Bills 1960

Smith played just 14 games and failed in his duty to be a solid blocking back for Buffalo.

73. Eric Ghiaciuc

C; Cincinnati Bengals 2005-08

Ghiaciuc was arguably the worst blocker in an average offensive line for the Bengals during that era.

72. Jack Thompson

QB; Cincinnati Bengals 1979-82, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1983-84

"The Throwin' Somoan" didn't play nearly as well at the pro level as he did in college.

Thompson won just one game as a member of the Bengals and three with Tampa Bay.

71. Erik Flowers

DE-LB; Buffalo Bills 2000-01, Houston Texans 2002, St. Louis Rams 2003-04

Bruce Smith he was not. Flowers recorded just five sacks in five seasons.

70. Eric Schubert

K; New York Giants 1985, St. Louis Cardinals 1986, New England Patriots 1987

In 1985, Schubert made 10 of his 13 field goal tries. That's a respectable rate.

In 1986, he was 3-of-11. That's awful.

69. Andrew Walter

QB: Oakland Raiders 2006-08

Walter lost six of his eight starts in 2006, throwing 13 interceptions and three touchdowns in that season.

68. Charles Rogers

WR; Detroit Lions 2003-05

He was hero for Michigan State, a zero for the Lions.

Rogers failed three drug tests in a career that saw him catch 36 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns.

67. Aaron Maybin

DE; Buffalo Bills 2009-10, New York Jets 2011-present

Recently dubbed "the worst player in the NFL," Maybin has staggered through three pro seasons.

So far with the Jets, he's recorded three sacks and three forced fumbles. But until he shows consistent success, he's a member of this list.

66. Dan McGwire

QB; Seattle Seahawks 1991-94, Miami Dolphins 1995

Picked in the middle of the first round, this McGwire didn't hit it out of the park as his older brother Mark did for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals.

Even at 6'8", he lacked the physical tools to be a professional quarterback.

It'd doubtful that even some of Big Mac's steroids would have helped.

65. Siran Stacy

RB; Philadelphia Eagles 1992

Cool name. Bad game.

This waste of a second-round draft pick was released at the end of the 1992 season after starting just one game for the Eagles.

He tried out for the Browns in 1993, but the hopes to latch on with Cleveland ended when he was arrested for theft at a K-Mart.

64. Everett McIver

OG; New York Jets 1994-95, Miami Dolphins 1996-97, Dallas Cowboys 1998-99

As a guard with the Jets, he helped get veteran quarterback Boomer Esiason get beat up.

McIver was passed on to two other teams before fading into oblivion.

63. Dennis Byrd

DE; Boston Patriots 1968

The No. 6 pick lasted just one year and produced very little for the Pats in that single season.

He's a legend for N.C. State, a nobody for New England.

62. Jim Gallery

K; St. Louis Cardinals 1987, Cincinnati Bengals 1989, Minnesota Vikings 1990

A 9-for-19 season on field goal tries got him a ticket out of St. Louis—Going 2-of-6 for Cincinnati pretty much solidified his lousy (and brief) legacy.

61. Dana Nafziger

TE-LB; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1977-82

The 6'1", 220-lbs product caught nine balls for 119 yards and made 10 tackles in his first season—then all but vanished from productivity.

60. Scott Fitzkee

WR; Philadelphia Eagles 1979-80, San Diego Chargers 1981-82

Four TD catches, 17 total receptions for 321 yards.

Some of the great wide receivers can do that over the course of a couple games.

Fitzkee (out of Penn State) did it over the course of four seasons.

59. Kenyatta Walker

OT; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2001-06

He proved to be a pretty useless first-round pick for the Bucs, lasting six underachieving seasons.

58. Roger Vick

RB; New York Jets 1987-89, Philadelphia Eagles 1990

Vick finished four NFL campaigns with 1,289 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs.

That's OK for a guy that came in as an undrafted free agent.

Problem was, Vick was the 21st-overall pick by the Jets in '87.

57. Curtis DeLoatch

DB; New York Giants 2004-05, New Orleans Saints 2006, Carolina Panthers

A forgettable and short life in the NFL amounted to 13 career starts, one interception and plenty of missed coverages.

56. Matt Leinart

QB; Arizona Cardinals 2006-09, Houston Texans 2011-present

The Cardinals got the former USC standout to be the immediate starting quarterback.

Those thoughts soon changed when they witnessed his inability at the pro level.

Eventually, veteran Kurt Warner took over and led Arizona to a Super Bowl appearance.

55. Kwame Harris

OT; San Francisco 49ers 2003-07, Oakland Raiders 2008

Was he as bad as Kwame Brown in the NBA? Probably not, but he certainly didn't last as long.

Poor blocking skills have resulted in both Bay Area teams letting him go.

54. Leeland McElroy

RB; Arizona Cardinals 1996-97, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1998

After starring at Texas A&M, he fizzled with Arizona and Tampa Bay.

In 1996, he finished with just 424 yards on 135 carries as a member of the Cardinals.

53. Art Schlichter

QB; Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts 1982, 1984-85

Off-the-field troubles aside, Schlichter was a bust coming out of Ohio State.

After 1985, he never played in the NFL again.

52. Leroy Keyes

RB-DB; Philadelphia Eagles 1969-72, Kansas City Chiefs 1973

The Eagles won the last two of their final three games in 1968 to avoid having the worst record in the league that year.

Unfortunately, the top pick in the '69 draft was O.J. Simpson. He went to the Buffalo Bills.

Philly's choice for a running back was far less successful.

51. Anthony Davis

RB; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1977, Los Angeles Rams 1978, Houston Oilers 1978

Many can recall Davis taking kickoffs and handoffs for touchdowns with USC. They can't remember him doing that in the NFL.

And with good reason—he scored just once.

50. Rae Carruth

WR; Carolina Panthers 1997-99

Not exactly one of the greatest human beings to walk this Earth, either.

49. Golden Richards

WR; Dallas Cowboys 1973-78, Chicago Bears 1978-79

Richards was more fool's gold.

He had 17 touchdown catches in seven pro seasons.

His shining moment, however, did come as a scoring reception in Super Bowl XII.

48. King Hill

QB; Chicago Cardinals 1958-59, Philadelphia Eagles 1960-68, Minnesota Vikings 1968, St. Louis Cardinals 1969

One of the more obscure draft busts, Hill was taken No. 1 by the Chicago Cardinals.

His career didn't take much flight, as he threw 37 touchdowns and 71 interceptions.

47. William Green

RB; Cleveland Browns 2002-05

For his brief career, Green ran for 2,109 yards.

More often than not, he ran into trouble. The most noise he made on the field was a pregame fight with Joey Porter.

46. Freddie Mitchell

WR; Philadelphia Eagles 2001-04

A player that had little talent and a big mouth, he should consider himself fortunate enough to have made that catch on 4th-and-26 as well as having been able to play in a Super Bowl.

45. Sammie Smith

RB; Miami Dolphins 1989-91, Denver Broncos 1992

Smith did very little in trying to give Dan Marino some help with the Miami offense.

The No. 9 overall pick by the Fins wound up being a stinker, never eclipsing 831 yards for an entire season.

44. Paul Palmer

RB; Kansas City Chiefs 1987-88, Dallas Cowboys 1989, Detroit Lions 1989

Just as Smith was unproductive for the Dolphins in the late 1980s, Palmer was equally unhelpful for Kansas City during that time.

He was chosen 19th, but should have been picked much later (1,053 yards in three seasons).

43. Johnny Mitchell

TE; New York Jets 1992-95, Dallas Cowboys 1996

Mitchell had plenty of hype put upon him prior to the 1992 NFL draft.

The Jets bought into it—and got a mediocre tight end.

42. Stan Thomas

OT; Chicago Bears 1991-92, Houston Oilers 1993-94

This Longhorn wasn't suited to be an NFL offensive lineman.

After starting seven games in his rookie campaign, he never started again.

41. Jack Trudeau

QB; Indianapolis Colts 1986-93, New York Jets 1994, Carolina Panthers 1995

He had better numbers than most of the other quarterbacks on this list, but it's because he had sustained mediocrity that he qualifies.

As a starter for eight years with Indianapolis, he had a record of 18-29. The lowest point came in the first season, losing all 11 of his starts.

40. Bill Capece

K; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1981-83

Accuracy was not his strong suit.

He made 43 of his 70 field-goal tries, including a dreadful final season in which he was 10 for 23.

39. Vernon Gholston

DE; New York Jets 2008-10

Gholston is one of the more recent players to have been far worse than his initial expectations.

After three seasons that saw little production, the No 6 pick in the 2008 draft left the Jets and tired to latch onto the Bears.

On August 29, he was cut by Chicago.

38. Kenny Jackson

WR; Philadelphia Eagles 1984-88 and 1990-91, Houston Oilers 1989

The Eagles didn't get what they expected from the No. 4 overall selection.

For eight seasons, he produced 11 TDs and never had more than 40 receptions in a single season.

37. Brian Bosworth

LB; Seattle Seahawks 1987-89

One of the most outlandish characters in football history, "The Boz" made himself out to be a bozo.

His steroid use while at the University of Oklahoma forced Bosworth to reach the NFL via the 1987 supplemental draft.

The Seattle Seahawks took a chance, signing him to the largest rookie contract in league history.

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, Bosworth's statements made more headlines than his play. His vow to shut down fellow rookie Bo Jackson in a Monday-night contest flopped just like his short NFL career.

36. Cedric Jones

DE; New York Giants 1996-00

Jones was much better toward the end of his career, but it was not enough to keep a job.

It took until his third season for this No. 5 overall pick to record a sack.

35. Heath Shuler

QB; Washington Redskins 1994-96, New Orleans Saints 1997

In college, he finished his career at the University of Tennessee with nearly every passing record.

In the pros, he finished with a quarterback rating of 54.3.

Unlike many trouble athletes on this list, Shuler has had a much more positive life outside of football.

He is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District.

34. Craig Whelihan

QB; San Diego Chargers 1997-98

An 0-7 mark as a starter in 1997 was followed with a 2-5 record in '98.

An improvement, but still pretty bad.

33. Chris Weinke

QB; Carolina Panthers 2001-06, San Francisco 49ers 2007

Weinke holds the dubious distinction of having the most consecutive losses by a quarterback (17).

Most of those came in the 1-15 season of 2001.

He started just one other time. That came with the 49ers—and he lost.

32. Limas Sweed

WR; Pittsburgh Steelers 2004-10

Prior to the 2010 season, Sweed changed his number from 14 to 80.

Unfortunately, that didn't change his lack of production or his ability to stay healthy.

31. Alex Van Dyke

WR; New York Jets 1996-98, Philadelphia Eagles 1999-00

Five seasons with just 26 catches and three touchdowns is enough to result in a ticket out of playing in the NFL.

30. Elvis Patterson

DB; New York Giants 1984-87, San Diego Chargers 1987-89, Los Angeles Raiders 1990-93, Dallas Cowboys 1993

A player that regularly got burned by opposing defenses also got moved from team to team over the course of 10 pro seasons.

29. Mike Phipps

QB; Cleveland Browns 1970-76, Chicago Bears 1977-81

After seven seasons with Cleveland, the Bears acquired Phipps.

Instead of establishing himself as the starting QB that his new team hoped he'd be, Phipps instead struggled.

In all, he finished with 55 TDs and 108 INTs.

28. Lawrence Phillips

RB; St. Louis Rams 1996-97, Miami Dolphins 1997, San Francisco 49ers 1999

An incredible waste of athletic talent, Phillips consistently blew every second chance he was granted.

It's a strong possibility that he's had more arrests than touchdowns.

27. Michael Haynes

DT; Chicago Bears 2003-05

Another Penn State pick gone bad for the Bears, Haynes had only five sacks in three forgettable years in the Windy City.

26. Joe Danelo

K; Green Bay Packers 1975, New York Giants 1976-82, Buffalo Bills 1983-84

All you need to know about Danelo came in 1979, when he had trouble finding the area between the goal posts in a 9-for-20 campaign.

25. Jim Grabowski

FB; Green Bay Packers 1966-70, Chicago Bears 1971

A household name at Illinois, Grabowski was the No. 1 pick in the AFL draft by the Miami Dolphins.

His eight touchdowns in six professional seasons made him fade into anonymity

24. Rashard Anderson

CB; Carolina Panthers 2000-01

The Jackson State product failed to earn his first-round paycheck money.

Anderson was out of professional football after only two seasons.

23. Neil O'Donoghue

K; Buffalo Bills 1977, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1978-79, St. Louis Cardinals 1980-85

He played for three teams over nine years, and seemed to always miss more big kicks than make them.

His final career field-goal percentage was 59.1.

22. Jeff Komlo

QB; Detroit Lions 1979-81, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1983

Komlo started in both of the Lions’ victories during the 1979 season.

However, his poor play resulted in having Gary Danielson start the 1980 campaign, one in which Detroit went 9-7.

21. Happy Feller

K; Philadelphia Eagles 1971, New Orleans Saints 1972-73

Happy made the teams he played for anything but.

Of the 43 field goals he attempted, Feller was good on just 16.

20. Dick Leftridge

FB; Pittsburgh Steelers 1966

The No. 3 overall pick came into training camp overweight and had trouble keeping it off.

One thing he didn't gain much of was yardage.

19. David Shula

WR; Baltimore Colts 1981

He didn't have the same success his father had as a head coach, and he certainly didn't do much better as a player.

Shula averaged five yards a return on punts and 13 on kickoffs.

18. Spergon Wynn

QB; Cleveland Browns 2000, Minnesota Vikings 2001

It's amazing to think that he was drafted a few spots ahead of Tom Brady.

17. Renaldo Nehemiah

WR: San Francisco 49ers 1982-84

Had incredible speed—but incredibly bad hands.

And the latter is obviously critical to sustaining a wide receiver spot on an NFL roster.

The gold medalist made 43 catches in his three seasons.

16. Shante Carver

DE; Dallas Cowboys 1994-97

Carver got a Super Bowl ring from the 1995 season, but he didn't really earn it.

The 23rd-overall pick in the '94 draft had 11.5 sacks when his career was finished.

15. Johnny "Lam" Jones

WR; New York Jets 1980-84

Of similar talents (and detriments) to the aforementioned Nehemiah, Jones made a limited impact in the Jets offense.

14. John McKay Jr.

WR; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976-78

Playing as the coach's son didn't help little John all that much, recording 41 catches over the course of three seasons with Tampa Bay.

13. Akili Smith

QB; Cincinnati Bengals 1999-02

The Philadelphia Eagles are glad they took Donovan McNabb instead of Smith.

In 461 pass attempts, he threw 13 interceptions and five touchdowns and finished with a QB rating of 52.8.

12. Babe Laufenberg

QB; New Orleans Saints 1986, San Diego Chargers 1988, Dallas Cowboys 1989-90

He made seven starts, threw 11 picks and completed barely 44 percent of his passes.

It's amazing how he won two of those games.

11. Jimmy Hines

WR; Miami Dolphins 1969, Kansas City Chiefs 1970

The sixth-round draft pick played like a player that was more suited to be undrafted.

He was another fast player (winner of the gold medal in the 100 meters at the 1968 Olympics) that had hands of stone.

Hines had a grand total of two catches.

10. Michael Haddix

RB; Philadelphia Eagles 1983-88, Green Bay Packers 1989-90

With Philly and Green Bay, Haddix averaged a paltry 3.0 yards per carry and only found the end zone three times in 543 rushing attempts.

9. Ted Gregory

DT; New Orleans Saints 1988

Gregory, originally listed at 6'1", was drafted by the Broncos.

The problem was that he appeared much shorter when head coach Dan Reeves (also 6-1) met him in person for the first time.

Denver traded him prior to the end of training camp, and he made nary a bit of noise with the Saints.

8. Kevin Allen

OT; Philadelphia Eagles 1985

The ninth-overall pick turned out to be a nightmare.

Allen played one forgettable season in the NFL. When he reported to training camp in 1986, he tested positive for cocaine.

He later spent three years in prison for sexual assault and was banned from the league.

7. Maurice Clarett

RB; Denver Broncos 2005

The sky appeared to be the limit for Clarett. As a freshman, he was an integral part of an Ohio State team that won the national title.

Then, the devilish nature of college athletics intervened.

Already in the midst of an academic scandal, the school suspended Clarett for the entire 2003 season after he was charged with filing a false police report.

Clarett unsuccessfully challenged the NFL's rule that a player must wait three years after graduating high school to declare for the draft.

In 2005, the Broncos chose him in the third round. But a disappointing effort in training camp resulted in him never seeing any action on the field in preseason, and he was cut on August 28 of that year.

He never saw the field again. Eventually, he would see a jail cell, thanks to his own personal demons.

6. Kim McQuilken

QB; Atlanta Falcons 1974-77, Washington Redskins 1979

His dreadful passing record over the course of five NFL seasons reads as such—2-5 record as a starter, 39.7 percent completion rate, four touchdowns and 29 interceptions.

5. Bob Timberlake

K; New York Giants 1965

In his one inglorious season as an NFL kicker, Timberlake connected on one of his 15 field-goal tries.

On the bright side, he made 21 of his 22 extra-point attempts.

4. Rocky Thompson

RB; New York Giants 1971-73

A surprising 17th-overall selection out of West Texas State, Thompson played 29 games, accumulated 68 carries for 217 yards and one touchdown.

Receiving, he caught 16 passes for just 85 yards.

3. Ryan Leaf

QB; San Diego Chargers 1998-2000, Dallas Cowboys 2001

After the Indianapolis Colts took Peyton Manning with the top pick in the 1998 NFL draft, the Chargers felt more than content with having a franchise QB in Leaf.

And his start was very promising, as he won his first two games that season.

But those good feelings washed away in a complete career meltdown.

The immature Leaf was seen berating a reporter in the locker room and was later suspended four games for cursing at general manager Bobby Beathard.

Leaf wound up winning just four of 14 starts with San Diego, throwing 33 interceptions to 13 touchdowns. His move to the Dallas Cowboys didn't repair the carnage.

2. Rusty Lisch

QB; St. Louis Cardinals 1980-83, Chicago Bears 1984

In 115 career attempts, he threw one touchdown and 11 interceptions.

In 1984, Lisch made his first career start.

He was so bad on that day (10-of-23 for 99 yards and an INT) that head coach Mike Ditka replaced him with Walter Payton.

1. JaMarcus Russell

QB: Oakland Raiders 2007-09

After the debacle of Ryan Leaf, it's hard to imagine there would be a bigger draft bust than him.

Leave it up to JaMarcus Russell to change our minds.

The top selection in 2007 got off to a discouraging start, as he held out of his first training camp.

When he did arrive (raking in a contract that paid him $32 million guaranteed), Russell was out of shape.

It only went downhill from there. When he was finally cut from the Raiders after three seasons, Russell had won just seven of his 25 starts.

He threw 23 interceptions, lost 15 fumbles, had a completion percentage of 52.1 and a passer rating of 65.2.

His on-field ineptitude, his lack of hard work and his arrest in July 2010 all add up to equal the all-time worst player in NFL history.

   

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