5 superstar NFL WRs who regretted leaving their teams feat. Dez Bryant

Modified Nov 08, 2022 11:49 GMT

In the NFL, wide receivers are currently in high demand. The position has become one of the highest-paid in the sport. Teams are now looking at them as coming second only to quarterbacks.

We’ve begun to see new contracts for receivers explode in value across the NFL.

In just the 2022 offseason alone, we’ve seen Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill leave their teams and sign record deals with their new franchises.

Hill was, perhaps, the outlier because he left a contending team for a franchise that has been perennial strugglers for much of the current millennium. While he may well regret the move in the future, for now, his bank balance is thanking him.

Superstar wide receivers leaving their teams is nothing new in the NFL. This has happened for years. Some truly great names have ditched the familiarity of a franchise where they were successful and comfortable for the promised land of riches and sporting opportunities that a trade would bring.

These trades don’t always work out, and that should serve as a warning for any modern mover like Hill, who is itching to get paid what they feel they are worth.

Here are 5 NFL receivers who have regretted leaving their team.

#1 – Randy Moss

Randy Moss rebuilt his NFL career with the New England Patriots after the Minnesota Vikings and Oakland Raiders had grown tired of him.

Moss’ production on the field was never in doubt, but in New England, he took his game to another level.

In three full seasons with Bill Belichick, Moss never had less than 1,000 receiving yards. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, he scored 23, 11 and 13 touchdowns respectively.

Moss wanted a move away from Boston because, when he wanted the Pats to give him a long-term contract, they weren’t willing to do so.

The Minnesota Vikings elected to take him back and traded for the receiver. However, it simply never got going for him back in the land of 10,000 lakes. He would play just four games in the NFL back with the Vikings before being cut. He would never again score more than three touchdowns in a single season.

#2 – Deion Branch

AFC Championship Game: New England Patriots v Pittsburgh Steelers

The Bill Belichick era in New England has been underpinned by a willingness to let players go rather than overpay them.

Deion Branch was arguably the best receiver in the NFL when he left the Patriots in 2006. During that time, he was Tom Brady's primary target.

However, when his rookie deal was about to expire, he asked for too much money. Consequently, the Pats traded him to Seattle after he held out during minicamp.

The Seahawks thought they were getting the real-deal at the top of his game, but it simply didn’t work.

Injuries began to hit hard, and Branch didn’t receive for over 900 yards in any of his four seasons with the Seahawks.

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The grass wasn’t greener away from Foxborough. Branch would return in 2010 to win another Super Bowl, yet he wasted three years of his career.

#3 – Andre Rison

Andre Rison was a phenomenal receiver during his years in Atlanta. This madde the Colts regret trading him.

He was only the fifth receiver in NFL history to score 60 touchdowns within his first six seasons in the league, but he was about to suffer a huge drop in production.

Rison elected to leave Atlanta in favor of a lucrative free-agent deal with the Cleveland Browns.

Often considered a graveyard for free-agents, Rison found Cleveland to be a cursed destination as his career virtually fell off a cliff.

He scored just three touchdowns in his sole year with the Browns and registered just 701 yards. Cleveland went through a disastrous year in 1995 with the team in crisis. This was due to Art Modell moving the team to Baltimore.

Nobody could have flourished in such an environment, but it was, yet again, a warning that players walking into strange situations with a new team could lose the stability which helped them to be great.

#4 – Wes Welker

The NFL was collectively stunned when Wes Welker developed into the best slot receiver in the sport under the tutelage of Belichick.

He was effective in the role because of his size and willingness to go for difficult catches close to the ground. This, however, would later lead to a downturn in his fitness.

Unfortunately for Welker, he wanted too much money to remain with the Pats and as his relationship with the coach deteriorated, there was also a ready-made replacement in the form of Julian Edelman. Danny Amendola’s presence in the same free-agency class didn’t help him either.

Welker would prove to be another player who was made better by the Patriots system, rather than the other way around. Thus, his time in the NFL with the Denver Broncos was quite disappointing.

In his second season, he caught just two touchdowns and was no longer the threat in the slot he once was.

#5 – Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant and the Dallas Cowboys seemed like an NFL match made in heaven. He was a big, powerful receiver who could make sensational catches. Meanwhile, the Cowboys provided the huge platform upon which he could shine.

Succeeding with the Cowboys is unlike anything else in the NFL, and the franchise hung their hats on Bryant’s receiving ability for a number of years. Coming to terms on a big contract, however, took a lot of time and negotiating.

This essentially soured the relationship, and after eight seasons, Bryant would get his wish and was released by the Cowboys. He signed with New Orleans but wouldn’t play a single snap with them due to injury.

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He then had a single year with the Baltimore Ravens, where he played just six games and scored two touchdowns.

Physically, he was no longer the receiver he once was. He must have wondered what could have been. If he had stayed on better terms with Dallas, would he have been able to play a reduced role in an environment he knew and was comfortable with?