10 Big NFL Names Whose Teammates Are Sick Of Them (2025)
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
For NFL teams, there are few problems more complicated than deciding if an ultra-talented player with a bad attitude is worth keeping around, for example, Kelce and Rodgers. Guys like Randy Moss, Michael Irvin, and Terrell Owens proved to be worth the headaches for their teammates in the NFL.
Antonio Brown? Not so much. While these 10 NFL players may possess high-end skills and/or have achieved tremendous career accomplishments, their attitudes make them less-than-ideal teammates.
So without further ado, let’s dive into 10 NFL players whose teammates are sick of them.
Which current NFL players are becoming toxic to their teammates?
A.J. Brown
Is AJ Brown creating a lot of locker room drama? We don’t know what exactly is going on behind the scenes. Whatever it is, it’s hard to fully comprehend AJ Brown’s dissatisfaction with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s one thing if you’re a great receiver stuck on a bad team. It’s also a thing if you’re underpaid. And if you’re not getting the ball enough. Neither of these scenarios applies to AJ Brown.
The Pro Bowl wideout has already played in two Super Bowls as an Eagle, winning it all last season. He’s gotten $196 million worth of contract extensions from Howie Roseman. When he’s on his game, Brown is anywhere from a top-five to a top-10 receiver in football.
And yet? The championship glory, giant bank account, and getting 100-plus targets a year aren’t enough for Brown. He’s been pouting like a spoiled high school student who received a two-year-old Lamborghini instead of a brand new Ferrari for a graduation gift.
Everyone knows about all the drama between Brown and Jalen Hurts. It’s destroyed the Eagles’ chances of repeating this year. Meetings with Hurts and owner Jeffrey Lurie have gone nowhere. And his non-stop whining on social media is just sad at this point. You know, like the time he went on a live stream and told his fantasy football owners to get rid of him?
Instead of chasing a Super Bowl repeat? Something tells us the Philly locker room is just counting down the days until the season ends. AJ Brown cannot get out of town soon enough.
Aaron Rodgers
Like a Kim Kardashian marriage, Rodgers brings drama to whichever NFL locker room he joins, especially to former or current teammates. He’s just fortunate that his career resume and talent outweigh the negatives that his diva-like personality brings to the table.
Like his predecessor in Green Bay, Brett Favre, Rodgers loves to stir up the retirement speculation and drag it on as long as he can. Remember when he thought about retiring after the 2020 campaign? That was five years ago.
Anyway, Rodgers kept regular contact with the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout the offseason. He didn’t make his final decision and officially sign the contract until June — three months after free agency opened.
Sure enough, Rodgers forgot how to play nice and act like a leader when his team needed it. He called out some teammates for running the wrong routes and missing film sessions. You know, instead of looking at his lackluster production.
The Steelers aren’t getting anything close to the “A” version of Rodgers. So, what are they paying him for? To pay teammates under the bus and stall their need to draft and develop a new franchise QB?
Most believe this is Rodgers’ final playing season. Regardless of how the season finishes, Rodgers’ teammates sure won’t miss him when he walks out the door.
George Pickens
The good news: George Pickens is having a career year with the Dallas Cowboys. The bad news: The NFL star is still a locker room drama queen and a headache for his teammates.
After acquiring DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers traded Pickens to the Cowboys in a blockbuster deal. Pickens was entering his contract year and had overstayed his welcome in Pittsburgh as a self-centered player with a fiery personality.
In the Cowboys’ Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions, cameras showed Pickens giving up on several routes. And then there was his unnecessary beef with Richard Sherman, who rightfully called out Pickens for his weak efforts. That was a must-win game for Dallas, too, by the way.
While Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Dallas’ other star players are giving it their all each week, Pickens only shows up when he wants to. Stats aside, Dallas really has a good reason to let him walk to free agency and become someone else’s problem.
Shemar Stewart
First impressions matter, yes. But it’s also never too late to make a better impression if the first one goes wrong. That’s the situation involving Stewart now.
Regarded as the ultimate boom-or-bust prospect, the Texas A&M product was drafted 17th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. Little did the Bengals know that the ensuing saga would serve as foreshadowing for their 2025 season.
Stewart and the Bengals engaged in a tense contract dispute that dragged on into July. Finally, Stewart signed his contract and arrived in time for training camp.
Now, take whichever side you want. But it’s never a good look for a rookie when he holds out over money before playing a snap. That wasn’t fair to the Bengals’ veterans and other teammates in the NFL. Stewart owed it to his team to have a good rookie year.
Of course, that wouldn’t be the case. Stewart made next to no impact in the first half of the season before landing on the injured reserve with a knee injury. We know injuries are just bad luck, but Stewart was practically invisible in the games he played before heading to the IR.
Maybe Stewart would have been more NFL-ready if he signed his deal ASAP and didn’t drag it on. We can only wonder what’s being said about Stewart when he’s not around his teammates.
Russell Wilson
The nice part about Russell Wilson’s contract for the New York Giants is that it was only for one year. Imagine if they gave him a multi-year pact?
Unfortunately, as it is, Wilson’s “good guy” image has deteriorated more and more in each passing year. The Seattle Seahawks AND Denver Broncos couldn’t wait to get rid of him. The Pittsburgh Steelers wanted nothing to do with him after a 10-win season and playoff berth.
As for the Giants? Well, what did they expect?
It took Big Blue just three games to rightfully bench Wilson for rookie Jaxson Dart. Lo and behold, the offense drastically improved after Dart. Even when the latter had to miss time due to injury, Jameis Winston came in and provided much better play than Wilson.
Wilson’s desire to just grow his brand and attract media attention has been fulfilled thanks to his luxury of being in the New York market.
Since he’s more focused on himself than football, the Giants have the super-easy decision to let Wilson walk and keep Winston as Dart’s backup. Russ is as good as gone.
Jawaan Taylor
After losing All-Pro offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to the Bengals in 2023 free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs signed the ex-Jacksonville Jaguars standout to a four-year deal worth $80 million.
In what has been an excellent tenure as the Chiefs’ GM, though, this was easily one of Brett Veach’s biggest strikeouts.
Not only has Taylor been awful in pass protection for Patrick Mahomes, but his on-field discipline is atrocious. He led the NFL with 17 penalties committed in 2023, eight of which were false starts. In 2024, his 14 penalties were tied for second-most in the league.
More terrible discipline and horrific pass protection have made Taylor the Chiefs’ most significant liability this year. Trust us, he’d have a lot more heat on him if not for Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey making up for him.
The good news? With only one year left on his deal, Taylor is an easy cut candidate after his season. For now, his Chiefs teammates just have to accept the liability that he is in today’s NFL.
Keon Coleman
The Buffalo Bills were thrilled to get rid of Stefon Diggs in a 2024 offseason trade with Houston. If Diggs were still up to his old antics in New England, the Patriots’ star receiver would undoubtedly be on this list.
Believing they could replace Diggs’ production through the draft, the Bills drafted the Florida State wideout with the No. 33 pick in 2024. The pick after him? Current Los Angeles Chargers star Ladd McConkey.
After a decent rookie year, expectations were much higher for Coleman in 2025. Well, he was benched twice midseason for disciplinary reasons. Specifically, he was late for a team meeting ahead of a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And this wasn’t a first-time thing. Coleman was briefly benched for Week 5 against the Patriots for disciplinary reasons. A late arrival to a meeting had led to him getting benched for the start of the Bills’ Week 3, 2024 home game.
Oh yeah, and the on-field production hasn’t stood out at all. So the Bills have no reason to put up with Coleman’s antics. While his teammates are showing up and putting in the work, the second-year guy is acting like an entitled veteran who’s been there and done that 100 times.
At this rate, we’d be shocked if he were on the Bills roster in 2026.
Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk is still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in Week 7 of the 2024 season. But it’s not his injury and absence that’s ruffling feathers in the 49ers’ locker room.
The 49ers gave Aiyuk a four-year contract extension worth $120 million after the 2023 campaign. He was off to a bad start in 2024 before suffering the season-ending injury.
In November, a bombshell report from The Athletic claimed that Aiyuk and the 49ers were headed for a split. The report said Aiyuk skipped meetings and declined to attend team activities.
Additionally, it was noted that the NFL star chose to do his workouts in the morning before his teammates arrived for theirs. Team efforts to recruit him for the final stretch run have been unsuccessful.
So you have a handsomely paid player who may or may not be healthy enough to play. The fact that he’s clearly not interested in showing up and staying in contact with his teammates says it all. Aiyuk doesn’t want to be a 49er. So why would they want him anymore?
The divorce can’t come soon enough for either side.
J.J. McCarthy
McCarthy isn’t on this list because of his personality, social media activity, or off-the-field stuff. It’s strictly his on-field performance.
The Vikings traded up to select McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in 2024. But a knee injury sidelined him for his entire rookie year. Thus, the Vikings handed the keys over to free agent pickup Sam Darnold.
Despite a career year from Darnold, who led Minnesota to 14 wins, the Vikings let him walk to free agency and went all-in on McCarthy. Darnold signed a three-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks and has helped them re-emerge as Super Bowl contenders.
McCarthy, meanwhile, is arguably the worst quarterback in football right now. Yes, he missed time due to injury. But Carson Wentz was playing way better than McCarthy before his season-ending injury.
McCarthy’s accuracy has been way off. And superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson hasn’t been able to hide his growing frustrations. There’s just no excuse for McCarthy to play this badly with JJ, Jordan Addison, TJ Hockenson, and Aaron Jones as his main weapons.
McCarthy has wasted another year of Jefferson’s prime, while Darnold is lighting it up in Seattle. If the Vikings went bold and cut ties with McCarthy after this season? We doubt anyone in the locker room would be that upset.
Travis Kelce
Prime Travis Kelce was everything the Kansas City Chiefs needed. This version of Travis Kelce is what they no longer need or require in the Chiefs’ locker room.
Kelce’s on-field production has declined yet again. The All-Pro version of Kelce is long gone. Not only that, but he’s hardly a good teammate anymore. You saw him screaming at teammate Jawaan Taylor and head coach Andy Reid in separate incidents at the start of the season.
And as much media attention as his relationship with Taylor Swift has drawn? We doubt most Chiefs players want it. They can’t stay focused on football because their past-his-prime tight end is with the world’s biggest music star.
Don’t forget when Kelce inadvertently took out Xavier Worthy with a collision in their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. An accident, yes, but also a reminder he’s hardly helping on the field.
Oh, and that pathetic drop that led to a game-clinching interception in Week 14 against the Houston Texans? Yeah, it’s just time for Kelce to go and let some young blood take over.
