Factory Of Sadness
FanSided

7 worst free agents signed by the Cleveland Browns since 1999

By Chad Porto

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 27: Defensive End John Abraham #94 of the New York Jets tries to get past tackle Ross Verba #77 of the Cleveland Browns during the NFL game at Giant Stadium on October 27, 2002 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Browns defeated the Jets 24-21. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 27: Defensive End John Abraham #94 of the New York Jets tries to get past tackle Ross Verba #77 of the Cleveland Browns during the NFL game at Giant Stadium on October 27, 2002 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Browns defeated the Jets 24-21. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH – DECEMBER 28: Wide receiver Donte Stallworth #18 of the Cleveland Browns runs with the football after catching a pass during pregame warmup prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on December 28, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Browns 31-0. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH – DECEMBER 28: Wide receiver Donte Stallworth #18 of the Cleveland Browns runs with the football after catching a pass during pregame warmup prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on December 28, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Browns 31-0. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

Donte Stallworth

Donte Stallworth has a complicated history with the Cleveland Browns. It was during his time with the team that Stallworth hit a man who was crossing a freeway early in the morning and killed him. It may be easy to have a knee-jerk reaction and instantly hate him for his actions, but the whole situation was just one long and messy set of poorly thought-through circumstances that everyone handled poorly.

Now, Stallworth has gotten his life together and is working for a company that deals in counter-terrorism. For all intents and purposes, he’s a good man who had a bad night.

That said, there’s no defense of his play in Cleveland the year before. A former first-round pick in 2002, Stallworth came to Cleveland in 2008 with the idea that he’d make the vaunted passing attack that already included Braylon Edwards and genuinely bad person Kellen Winslow II. The trio was supposed to give Derek Anderson all the firepower he needed to not only return to the Pro Bowl but also get the team over the 10-win hump and into the playoffs.

Boy, 2008 really was a weird year, huh?

Stallworth would last just one year in Cleveland, after signing a seven-year, $35 million deal. Had that horrid night in Miami not happened the following February, it’d still not have been surprising to have seen the Browns move on from him after just one year with how bad he was in the 2008 campaign.

He played 11 games, was targeted 45 times, and had just 17 receptions for just 170 yards and a touchdown. Yikes.

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