NFL players have a short shelf life. No matter how well a player’s career seems to be going, it doesn’t take much to knock that career off track.
Some of the following players have been among the league’s elite but have fallen on hard times. Others haven’t yet found success. Because of injuries, conditioning or on-field performance, these guys are facing make-or-break seasons in 2016. The higher the player is ranked, the more likely it is that his career could come to an end if he doesn’t step up this season. This type of information is critical to have when making online wagers at UK betting sites, which you can find at www.bestbettingsites.co.uk.
No. 10: Jordan Reed
How can a player who signed a five-year, $46.5 million contract extension during the offseason be facing a make-or-break year?
Jordan Reed has to prove that he can stay healthy. Reed played in 14 games last season and caught 87 passes, including 11 touchdowns. Both were career highs. In 2014, however, Reed missed five games. In his rookie season he missed seven games.
Reed missed minicamp with an ankle injury and on Thursday the Redskins erred on the side of caution and kept him out of the preseason opener with a thumb injury.
If Reed can’t stay on the field for more than half the season in 2016, then last season’s healthy campaign will look like a fluke and Reed ultimately might not see all of that $46.5 million.
No. 9: Alshon Jeffery
Any season that’s played under the franchise tag is the definition of a “make or break” season.
Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery will play for the $14.6 million franchise tender in 2016. After catching 89 passes in 2013 and 85 passes in 2014, Jeffery caught just 54 passes last year. He missed seven games with calf, hamstring and groin injuries. So the Bears are taking a wait-and-see approach before opening up their wallets and paying Jeffery elite-receiver money.
Already this summer, Jeffery has missed practice time with a hamstring injury. Even if he does stay healthy, it would help if he had more talent around him. Eddie Royal, who had 37 receptions last season, is the top returning pass catcher other than Jeffery. Kevin White was drafted seventh overall last year but missed his rookie season with a stress fracture in his leg. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler told the Chicago Tribune that White is still “raw.”
It’s quite possible that Jeffery will have to fight a lot of double coverage to get a long-term deal.
No. 8: DeMarco Murray
Just two years ago, DeMarco Murray led the NFL in rushing yards (1,845) and rushing touchdowns (13) for the Cowboys.
Last year, Murray ran for just 702 yards and six touchdowns for the Eagles.
This year, Murray is playing for his third team in three seasons as he tries to revive his career with the Titans. He ran for 93 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown, on six carries in the Titans’ 27-10 preseason win over the Chargers Saturday night. The No. 1 running back job is his to lose.
Chargers had two defensive starters — Darius Philon and Kyle Emanuel — on field for 71-yard DeMarco Murray TD run.
— Michael Gehlken (@sdutGehlken) August 14, 2016
The 28-year-old Murray has to prove that he didn’t ride the coattails of the Cowboys’ offensive line two years ago. If he doesn’t, rookie second-round pick Derrick Henry is breathing down his neck.
No. 7: Jadeveon Clowney
Jadeveon Clowney missed the Texans’ preseason opener with a knee injury.
Where have we heard this before?
Not since JaMarcus Russell in 2007 has there been a player drafted No. 1 overall who turned out to be a flat-out bust.
That streak could end if Clowney doesn’t find a way to stay healthy. After making 47 tackles for losses in three years at South Carolina, Clowney became just the third defensive player in this century to be taken with the top pick. But he tore his meniscus in his debut and appeared in just four games in his rookie season.
Clowney saw the field more often in 2015, playing in 13 games. He had 4.5 sacks and batted down six passes. However, Clowney missed the regular-season finale and the Texans’ wild-card loss with a knee injury.
If Clowney can’t stay out of the trainer’s room this season, there will be no reason for the Texans to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract in 2017.
No. 6: Ryan Tannehill
The Dolphins drafted Ryan Tannehill eighth overall in 2012. While he hasn’t exactly been a bust, he’s been consistently underwhelming and in four seasons he hasn’t led the Dolphins to a winning record, let alone the playoffs.
Miami dipped to 6-10 last year after two straight 8-8 seasons. It doesn’t help that Tannehill has been sacked 184 times. He’s been one of the NFL’s three most sacked quarterbacks in each of the last three seasons.
New Dolphins head coach Adam Gase, who extracted a career-high 92.3 passer rating out of Jay Cutler last year, said recently that he’s a proponent of a short-to-intermediate range passing game that allows the quarterback to release the ball quickly. Perhaps Tannehill can lead the Dolphins to more victories if he’s upright more often.
If Tannehill already has reached his ceiling, however, one of the new people the new coach eventually brings in could be a quarterback.
No. 5: Carlos Hyde
If there’s any debate that Carlos Hyde is facing a make-or-break season, he squashed it when he said this to NFL.com.
“I’m approaching this year as a make-or-break year.”
OK, then.
Hyde seemed to be on the verge of a breakout season last year. He ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns in a season-opening, 20-3 win over the Vikings. However, he ran for just 302 yards over the next six games and his season ended in Week 7 when he suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
New 49ers coach Chip Kelly called Hyde a “stud” during OTAs. So as he enters his third season it looks like Hyde will get every opportunity to thrive in Kelly’s up-tempo offense.
If Hyde’s 2016 season is more break than make, Kelly showed in Philadelphia that he won’t hesitate to make changes.
No. 4: Greg Robinson
The Rams drafted offensive tackle Jason Smith with the No. 2 overall pick in 2009. Five years later, they drafted offensive tackle Greg Robinson with the No. 2 overall pick.
Smith turned out to be a bust. His career lasted just four years. History appears to be repeating itself with Robinson, unless Robinson takes a big step forward this season.
Robinson started all 16 games at left tackle for the Rams last season. He was called for holding eight times, more than any player in the league according to NFLPenalties.com. None of those penalties came in the final two games, however, and Robinson showed signs late in the season that his arrow is pointing up.
The Rams have invested in skill-position players in their last two drafts, taking Todd Gurley in 2015 and Jared Goff this year. If Robinson doesn’t maintain the momentum he gained last year, the franchise could go back to the drawing board at offensive tackle in the 2017 draft.
No. 3: Eddie Lacy
Eddie Lacy’s weight went up and his statistics went down last season.
After rushing for more than 1,100 yards in each of his first two seasons, the Packers running back ran for just 758 yards last season. He ran for just three touchdowns after running for 20 over his first two seasons.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Lacy reported to training camp at about 240 pounds. That’s lighter than last season but he’s still not exactly ripped.
#Packers RB coach Ben Sirmans believes the reps for Eddie Lacy on Friday and next week will begin to show results his off-season efforts.
— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) August 10, 2016
Lacy is in the final year of his rookie contract. If his numbers don’t improve, his days in Green Bay could be numbered.
No. 2: Robert Griffin III
Robert Griffin III’s 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year season is a distant memory. He hasn’t been the same quarterback since knee surgery in 2013 seemingly robbed him of his mobility.
In 2013 and 2014, Griffin went 5-15 as a starter. He started just seven games in 2014 and threw four touchdown passes and six interceptions. He fell out of favor so badly in Washington that he didn’t play a single snap last season.
Both Griffin and the Browns are starting fresh this season. Cleveland has been a graveyard for quarterbacks and coaches, but the franchise is trying again with Griffin and new head coach Hue Jackson.
Jackson squashed any controversy by naming Griffin the starter before Friday night’s preseason opener. Griffin completed four of eight passes for 67 yards and an interception in a mixed performance.
Griffin has shown leadership traits in training camp, according to NFL.com, but he’ll need to show more than that to end the Browns’ decade-and-a-half search for a franchise quarterback. If he doesn’t, this second chance could be his last chance in the NFL.
No. 1: Dee Milliner
Before he even gets to his make-or-break season, Jets cornerback Dee Milliner is facing a make-or-break preseason.
Milliner has had a hard time staying healthy and has appeared in just 21 games with three interceptions (all in his rookie season) since he was drafted ninth overall in 2013. He had a shot at the No. 3 cornerback job coming into training camp, but in Thursday night’s preseason game he was burned twice by Jaguars receiver Allen Robinson.
Dee Milliner has given up short pass, a deep pass, and missed a tackle after giving up another pass. He’s on fire.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) August 12, 2016
Of the 21 games Milliner has played, only eight have come in the last two seasons. He suffered a wrist injury and was placed on injured reserve-designated to return last season. When he did return, he played only on special teams.
Not surprisingly, the Jets declined to exercise his fifth-year option and he’ll be a free agent after the 2016 season.
Milliner could be a free agent even sooner if he doesn’t get his act together in the preseason.