15 worst free agent signings in Denver Broncos franchise history

12. Simeon Rice, DE (2007)

In the mid-to-late 90s and early 2000s, few defensive ends were as productive as Simeon Rice. Rice was the 1996 defensive rookie of the year in the NFL. He made it to three Pro Bowls from 1996-2005, was an All-Pro, and racked up 119 total sacks and 24 forced fumbles.

As a member of the Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Simeon Rice was the man. He helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl over the Raiders in the 2002 NFL season. Even as he entered into his early 30s as a player, he was a strip-sack machine.

When the Buccaneers cut him due to a failed physical after the 2006 season, Rice became a free agent and he was really on brand for the way Mike Shanahan liked to build his defenses at the time. Shanahan was seemingly all about reclamation projects for a season, or at least seeing what kind of juice he could squeeze out of big-name players, and so of course the Broncos signed Rice to a one-year, $3 million deal in the 2007 offseason.

As it turns out, the former All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection was simply out of production. His time had come, but the Broncos didn't realize it before making their investment. He played just six games as a Bronco, recording seven total tackles and 0 sacks. The Broncos let him go in the season and he was picked up briefly by the Indianapolis Colts as well.