Watch: Which 2020 NFL free agents are potential busts?

This is Yardbarker's Chris Mueller.

Free agency is nearly upon us, and many teams will be shelling out big money in the hopes of landing a difference-maker who will propel them to new heights.

However, when it comes to NFL free agency, it's always a case of buyer beware, as there are yearly examples of players who get paid but then failed to produce.

Here are three players who might flop after hitting the jackpot, be it with their current team or a new suitor.

Tampa Bay seems intent on keeping linebacker Shaquil Barrett, and why not? Barrett led the NFL with 19.5 sacks last year, and throughout his career, his Pro Football Focus defensive grade has never been lower than 71 for an entire season, which suggests that he has a very high floor for overall play.

Still, he had just 14 career sacks in 61 games with the Denver Broncos before ending up in Tampa Bay.

Everything that he did for the Buccaneers in 2019 screams one-hit wonder. He obliterated his career highs in every significant pass-rushing category, and even if he's a solid player for the rest of his career, it's doubtful he'll perform to the level of the contract that he's likely to get.

It's hard not to be tempted by Eric Ebron's potential.

The 10th overall pick in the 2014 draft broke out with Indianapolis in 2018, catching 13 touchdown passes. However, even with that monster season, he has just 27 touchdown catches on his career.

Ebron has never topped five scores in any other season. He's missed 13 games in six seasons. And maybe most troubling of all to potential teams that are looking at his services, Ebron had a drop percentage of 9.6 in 2019. That was the eighth highest figure overall in the NFL and the worst in the league among qualifying tight ends.

The last potential free-agent bust is Ryan Tannehill.

It's anyone's guess as to whether or not he ends up back with the Titans and whether he could be anything close to the quarterback who led the league in passer rating, yards per attempt, adjusted yards per attempt and yards per completion last season.

Tannehill's history suggests that he cannot. His previous best passer rating for full season was 93.5 in 2016. 

Tannehill might be an above-average quarterback moving forward. He may have turned a corner, but he's likely to get paid like a franchise cornerstone despite six seasons of middling play before last year.

Unless Tannehill's the rare player who figured it all out in his seventh season, he's likely to have a letdown regardless of where he ends up.

For Yardbarker, I'm Chris Mueller.