Washington LB LaVar Arrington, 2004

Arrington hit the peak of his career heading into the 2004 season after his third consecutive Pro Bowl, but it all came crashing down in 2004 in Williams’ first season as Washington’s defensive coordinator. Arrington missed 12 games in the middle of the season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. 

Washington replaced Arrington with Lemar Marshall, who had only tallied 10 tackles in 30 games in two seasons without an NFL start. The defense obviously suffered without Arrington, who had averaged 92.5 combined tackles and 8.5 sacks over the previous two seasons. Washington went 3-9 without its star linebacker and allowed 241.3 yards per game.