We’re now past the midway point of the 2026 season. While a true evaluation of offseason moves happens after the year ends, there are a few moves this year that some NFL teams should profoundly regret and that may cost them dearly for years to come.

Now past the midway point of the 2026 NFL season, here are five moves that we believe these teams should be very regretful about.

Indianapolis Colts Signing Daniel Jones to n $88 Million Contract

We wrote back in March that the Indianapolis Colts‘ decision to re-sign Daniel Jones, rather than giving him the franchise or transition tag, was one of the worst early moves of the 2026 NFL offseason. In hindsight, the club’s decision seems even more dumbfounding. Jones had a career 70-47 TD-INT ratio and 84.3 passer rating with a 24-44-1 record in 70 games from 2019–2024. Colts general manager saw a promising eight-game stretch from Jones—7-1 record, 71.2 percent completion rate, 13-3 TD-INT and 109.5 passer rating—and decided that’s all that mattered.

Ballard even took things a step further, believing in Jones as a franchise-caliber passer so much that he traded a pair of first-round picks for Sauce Gardner. Jones went 1-4 in his final five games last year with a 6-5 TD-INT line and an 84.2 passer rating before suffering an Achilles tear. Ballard still signed the veteran quarterback, whose limited success has been heavily reliant on his athleticism, to an $88 million contract. Suffice it to say, there’s a reason Indianapolis finally fired Ballard.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Caving to Baker Mayfield, Giving Him $165 Million

Entering September, it seemed like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would break the cycle of NFL teams overpaying for league-average quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield wasn’t happy about that—he vocalized his feeling of disrespect over contract negotiations plenty—but the franchise seemed ready to have its veteran starter pissed off with something to prove. That seemed like a great strategy, given Mayfield put up a 94.6 passer rating and earned a Pro Bowl selection the last time he played on a prove-it contract. Let’s also keep in mind that, having decided to play through a significant shoulder injury, Mayfield went 3-8 with an 80.6 passer rating, a 14-10 TD-INT line and averaged just 195.8 pass ypg in his final 11 starts this past season.

Suddenly, the Buccaneers’ strategy changed. Mayfield was signed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension on Sept. 8 that provided him with $110 million in new guarantees. Tampa Bay didn’t have to do that. What has it gotten back since the ink on the contract dried? The Buccaneers are 1-4 in games Mayfield has completed a pass this season and he has some of the worst numbers—completion rate (60.6 percent), passing touchdown rate (2.1 percent), yards per attempt (6.5) and passer rating (74.9)—in a career that hasn’t exactly been flattering outside of Tampa Bay. He also has one of the worst Completion Rate Over Expectation (-1.5 percent) figures in the NFL. Mind you, he is 31 years old and his cap hit almost doubles next season ($34 million to $65.7 million).

Los Angeles Chargers Hire Mike McDaniel as OC

Some of the moves NFL teams made in 2026 were disasters waiting to happen and easy to criticize at the time. Just about everyone around the National Football League or who followed it closely, outside of Miami, was enamored with Mike McDaniel taking over as the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator. The end result has been one of the biggest disasters in modern NFL history.

It’s truly impossible to exaggerate how bad the Chargers offense is this season. Entering Week 10, the Chargers rank last in EPA per play at -0.219 (Minnesota Vikings are 31st at -0.156), they are one of only two teams with fewer than 20 red-zone trips this season (Vikings, 17) and one of just two clubs with a scoring rate under 30 percent (Philadelphia Eagles are last at 25.5 percent). Infamously, Los Angeles just saw its streak of going 37 consecutive drives without an offensive touchdown snapped. Is McDaniel entirely to blame for this? No. But when a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback sees his career interception rate (1.7 percent) more than double in 2026 (4.7 percent) and his passer rating plummet (96.3 career to 70.4 this season), the new play-caller deserves a majority of the blame.

Arizona Cardinals Using 3rd Overall Pick on Jeremiyah Love

Jeremiyah Love wasn’t just the best running back in the 2026 NFL Draft; he was arguably the top prospect in his class. In the right offense, he would’ve been the overwhelming favorite to win Rookie of the Year and could’ve challenged for a Pro Bowl selection in 2026. Unfortunately, the Arizona Cardinals decided they had to have him with the third overall pick.

Let’s check in on how things are going in Arizona. Love is currently on injured reserve, set to miss at least four games, thanks to a third different ankle injury since he landed in the desert. In the six games he did play, Love eclipsed 65 rushing yards just once and averaged under 3.5 yards per carry in three games. Scouts raved about his skills as a pass-catcher, but he’s finished with 2 or fewer receptions in four-of-six games and he’s never hit 20 receiving yards.

Meanwhile, running back Kaelon Black (90th overall pick) leads all rookies in rushing yards, Mike Washington Jr. (122nd overall pick) is second and the likes of Seth McGowan (237th overall pick), Jonah Coleman (108th pick), Jadarian Price (32nd pick) and Emmett Johnson (161st pick) are all going to outproduce Love this season and be far more efficient with their touches. Arizona might ruin an amazing talent.

Minnesota Vikings’ QB Decisions

Where do we even begin here? The J.J. McCarthy trade merits heavy consideration, given that the former first-round pick has looked serviceable since the New York Giants acquired him for a fifth-round pick in late September. Then again, reporting out of Minnesota made it pretty apparent that head coach Kevin O’Connell wanted nothing to do with McCarthy, and it felt as if Minnesota would’ve started Max Brosmer before it gave its former top pick another chance.

The Minnesota Vikings also give us options here, since they signed Kyler Murray for the veteran minimum and then decided a quarterback room of Murray and Carson Wentz was enough for them. Minnesota is going to waste a once-in-a-decade defense this season. Given O’Connell is supposed to be the “quarterback whisperer”, the Vikings honestly might be better off promoting Flores to the top job this offseason because he’s been their best coach for two years now.