Cleveland Browns: 20 Worst free agents signings in franchise history

Cleveland Browns worst free agents signings No. 1: Andre Rison, Wide Receiver

This one was bad on an epic scale. The Cleveland Browns move to get Andre Rison wasn’t just bad because of his on-field play, but the impact his massive contract had on the franchise and their future.

Nate Peterson of CBS Sports agrees it’s the worst signing in the history of the Browns and details how his contract helped facilitate a move to Baltimore:

"“Andre “Bad Moon” Rison, who went to four Pro Bowls in five seasons in Atlanta but set fires nearly everywhere else he went after that, outside of one final Pro Bowl season with the Chiefs in 1997. Rison caught just 47 balls in his one season in Cleveland, and Art Modell — who took out loans to cover Rison’s $5M signing bonus — held up Rison’s $17 million deal as one reason he had to move the team to Baltimore” — Peterson, CBS Sports"

Rison was a former first-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts but was traded after just one season. He exploded and became a star after that for the Falcons, but it seemed to always be something with him — including an incident when his girlfriend burned his house down.

He had stints with a few other teams after his one year with the Browns, but there’s still only one franchise that had to move after being burned by his contract.

All stats used in this article were courtesy of Pro Football Reference.