8 Disappointing NFL Stars with Something to Prove in Second Half of 2023 Season

It just hasn't panned out for these guys.

At previous points in their careers, things were wonderful. But in the case of each NFL veteran we're about to analyze, 2023 has been a relative nightmare.

Here's a rundown of eight players who have been snakebitten thus far in a critical season, and a look at what they face as we head into the second half of the campaign.

After hardly playing in 2021 and 2022 as a result of off-field issues, Deshaun Watson was looking to get back to his superstar ways with a full return to the field in 2023.

However, that hasn't happened.

Admittedly, he's been hampered by a concussion and a shoulder injury at various points. He's already missed three starts this season as a result, but that doesn't fully explain why the 28-year-old has a bottom-10 QBR and a sub-90 passer rating for a Cleveland Browns offense that ranks 29th in yards per play.

Considering his $46 million average annual salary, that's simply unacceptable. The guaranteed nature of that long-term deal may mean he is likely to have many more opportunities to excel, but if he doesn't turn it around in the coming months, it's hard to imagine him suddenly recapturing magic he produced in Houston in 2020.

A potential good omen? Watson has posted triple-digit passer ratings in blowout victories in each of his last two full performances. We'll see if that leads to something more with a lot on the line Sunday in Baltimore.

Josh Jacobs led the NFL in rushing yards in 2022 and was unsurprisingly hit with the franchise tag this past offseason. He negotiated an incentive-laden one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, essentially betting on himself in the process.

Through nine games, though, the 25-year-old has generally shown why teams can be so apprehensive about handing lucrative long-term deals to running backs.

Jacobs still ranks 10th in the league in rushing, but his ugly 3.2 yards-per-attempt average ranks 41st among 44 qualified backs. It also represents a decline of nearly two full yards compared to 2022.

The Alabama product is a five-year veteran now, and he's got plenty of mileage on the clock. He has scored three times the last two weeks, but he still has just three 12-plus-yard gains all season.

That has to change soon or Jacobs will find himself in low demand next offseason. Let's see what he can do, starting with a matchup against an exploitable Jets run defense on Sunday.

Austin Ekeler also pushed for a new contract this past offseason after scoring a league-high 38 touchdowns from scrimmage combined in 2021 and 2022. He eventually landed a revised deal with extra incentives, and he's also slated to hit free agency in March.

Unfortunately, with an ankle injury factoring in, the 28-year-old has just four touchdowns and a 3.6 yards-per-attempt average (down from 4.5 in 2022) for a Los Angeles Chargers offense that has fallen far short of expectations with a 21.8 points-per-game average this season.

Again, missed time plays a role here. Ekeler has participated in just five games and hasn't been 100 percent for much of that action. However, that and a lack of overall production will have a lot of NFL decision-makers wondering how much the seven-year veteran is worth if he doesn't get rolling soon.

Ekeler now has to prove his best days aren't behind him. He scored twice in a win over the Jets Monday night, and we'll see if he can put together his first strong rushing performance since Week 1 this weekend against the Lions.

After three consecutive seasons with at least 900 yards and six touchdowns to start his career, it seemed Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins would be in for a huge payday following a potential monster contract year in 2023.

That has not come to fruition at all so far, though.

Stuck in an offense that ranks in the bottom 10 in scoring after a poor start, and being lassoed by injuries to his ribs and hamstring, the 24-year-old has just two touchdowns in seven games and has seen his yards-per-target total drop from 9.3 in his first three pro campaigns to 6.4 in 2023.

He's caught just 27 of the 51 passes thrown his way.

On the bright side, Higgins is coming off the best performance of his season to date (eight catches for 110 yards against Buffalo).

If he wants to cash in, and if the Bengals hope to rebound from a rough start to make a Super Bowl run, the Clemson product will have to come up big in vital games against the likes of the Ravens, Chiefs, Steelers and Browns in the coming weeks.

A lot was made of the Dallas Cowboys' decision to get veteran wideout Brandin Cooks this past offseason. After all, this is a Super Bowl-caliber team and he is a six-time 1,000-plus-yard receiver who was just an injury-impacted year removed from a strong season in Houston.

But it's not happening.

The 30-year-old has been targeted just 29 times this season in Dallas, and he's averaging a career-low 5.7 yards per target. He caught just a single seven-yard pass in a loss to the Eagles on Sunday, and he's still to put up 50 yards in a game this season.

"Getting frustrated, all that's going to do is affect your mentals," Cooks told reporters, "and go down a route that you don't want to go down."

That's fair and it's a mature approach. But if Cooks doesn't start producing soon, it's hard to envision the Cowboys keeping him around with a clear-cut opportunity to get out of his contract in the 2024 offseason.

Remember when Kyle Pitts was all the rage as a top-five pick in the 2021 NFL draft? Remember when he followed that up with a 1,000-yard Pro Bowl rookie season?

Well, since that 2021 campaign, the Atlanta Falcons tight end has caught 60 passes for 745 yards and three touchdowns. Now, you have to wonder if his fifth-year option is even a consideration for a team that just hasn't seen enough.

Keep in mind that even while the Florida product excelled in terms of catches and yards as a rookie, he caught just one touchdown pass. He has scored just four times in two-and-a-half years of professional football action.

An MCL injury was partly to blame for his brutal cumulative numbers in 2022, but he's healthy now and remains an afterthought more often than not in Arthur Smith's offense.

Pitts turned 23 last month so time is still on his side, but it doesn't take long to fall into an abyss in this league. We'll have to see if he can build off of a decent 56-yard showing against Minnesota in Week 9.

Will Ronnie Stanley ever be the same again?

It's more than fair to ask the question now that the 2019 first-team All-Pro is struggling again with injuries and a lack of production at the tackle position for the Baltimore Ravens.

Things may be rolling for the Ravens, but it's discouraging that Stanley has missed three games while still finding a way to surrender four sacks and get called for four penalties.

It's not as though the Notre Dame product has been a complete liability, but he's not the asset he was, and the benefit of the doubt is gone when you make it onto the field for just 18 games in a three-year span.

The Ravens can save more than $8 million by releasing the soon-to-be 30-year-old this upcoming offseason. Unless Stanley really gets it together soon, there's a strong probability that happens.

Thirty-eight million bucks.

That's what the Philadelphia Eagles owe cornerback James Bradberry over the course of the next three years after the team prioritized and re-signed the 2022 second-team All-Pro in the offseason.

Sadly, the investment thus far has been abysmal.

In just eight games this season, Bradberry has been beaten for a tied NFL-high seven touchdowns. He's yet to intercept a pass, and opposing quarterbacks have a 117.6 passer rating on throws into his coverage.

Has the Samford product hit a wall in his age-30 season or is this just a slump? Maybe he's still not over that controversial holding penalty in last year's Super Bowl. Regardless, he has to put it together soon or he may cost the Eagles their Super Bowl chances again.

Bradberry will have plenty of opportunities in big spots when the Eagles come out of their Week 10 bye to face the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and Cowboys in consecutive weeks to kick off the home stretch.