The NFL preseason is underway, but a number of high-profile free agents that have become household names over the years remain unsigned. These are five surprising names that are still on the market, and one perfect team that should give them a call.
Michael Vick, QB
Vick was not impressive in his limited action with the Jets in 2014. In three games Vick threw three touchdown passes against two picks while completing just 52.9 percent of his passes. He did not add much on the ground either, taking off 26 times for 153 yards and failing to score any touchdowns.
3 teams that might want to give Michael Vick a call
Against Pittsburgh, Vick’s second start, he showed signs of vitality. He completed 10-of-18 passes for 132 yards and two scores while also rushing eight times for 39 yards. Vick is by no means an appealing option at starter, but there are several teams with nothing great in camp for either their starting roles or backup jobs. Plenty of teams right now would improve by adding him.
Perfect Team: Buffalo Bills
Ray Rice, RB
Rice’s main issue is obvious; he became an NFL pariah once the video of him striking his then-fiancee Janay Palmer in an elevator, knocking her unconscious, leaked onto the internet. He was cut from the Ravens almost immediately, and has been on a campaign to get another chance ever since.
Janay Rice says Ray Rice "made a mistake" and is not "a wife beater"
The icy reception to Rice’s return has more to it than his domestic violence though. Greg Hardy found work with the Dallas Cowboys, and plenty of other players have had run-ins with the law and made it onto a roster. The trepidation might stem from Rice’s 2013 campaign—which was abysmal. He rushed for just 3.1 yards per carry, which was a 1.3-yard drop from the previous season, and he scored only four times. Since running backs tend to see their performance dip pretty rapidly, teams may be thinking Rice is not only bad PR, but a declining asset on the field.
Prefect Team: Dallas Cowboys
Chris Johnson, RB
Johnson may actually have an offer on the table from the Arizona Cardinals, but this is a long fall for a guy who rushed for more than 2,000 yards in 2009.
The Cardinals are pursuing RB Chris Johnson. They have offered him a 1 year deal per sources. Stay tuned to see if he says yes. #Cardinals
— Dianna Marie Russini (@diannaESPN) August 11, 2015
Johnson didn’t get much run with Gang Green, stuck behind Chris Ivory for most of the year and even ceding carries to the unspectacular Bilal Powell at times. He finished 2014 with 633 yards, marking the first time he’d ever rushed for fewer than 1,000 yards. Johnson’s receiving fell off a cliff, and his 4.3 yards per carry is skewed by a big Week 12. Johnson’s most consistent work came from Weeks 12-16, but if Week 12 is excluded, the yards per carry dip to 3.4.
Perfect Team: Houston Texans
Knowshon Moreno, RB
Moreno exploded back into relevance in 2013, and was on his way to proving it was no fluke in 2014 with the Dolphins. He was averaging nearly five yards per carry in Miami until a knee injury ended the campaign. While his injury history is fairly lengthy, Moreno is still only 28 years old with a recent track record of success.
He’s had ups and downs, but in 2013 he showed he has a nose for the end zone, piling up 10 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes out of the backfield, making him a potentially cheap three-down starter.
Perfect Team: New York Giants
Reggie Wayne, WR
It’s hard to imagine someone as tenured and successful as Reggie Wayne is languishing on the NFL unemployment line, but his drops were blatant last season and he hasn’t topped six touchdowns since 2009. At this point Wayne is depth at the position rather than someone to count on, but his experience is invaluable, and it’s hard to believe he can’t play anymore.
Perfect Team: Baltimore Ravens
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