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The Best NFL Players on New Teams This Season

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Filed under:The 22 most important players who changed jerseys this offseason, from Tom Brady to Darius SlayRemembering every bit of NFL player movement during the offseason is hard. It’s one thing to see a push notification saying DeAndre Hopkins was traded to the Cardinals in March, but it’s another to see him in a Cardinals uniform. Every year there are a few players who make us think, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” This year may have more of those moments than usual. The most important NFL transactions this year happened in mid-March, when there was more pressing news in the world than the Chicago Bears trading for Nick Foles. So with training camp scheduled to begin in less than two weeks, let’s run through the best players who switched teams this offseason and what to expect from them in 2020.RelatedOne important caveat: Rather than listing 22 players to cover each starting offensive and defensive position, we’ll list the 22 most relevant players who switched teams. That means five quarterbacks and zero offensive guards. No disrespect to offensive linemen, but nobody will see Graham Glasgow playing left guard for the Denver Broncos, and think, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” We’re sorry, Graham. Now on to the 22.Old Team: New England PatriotsNew Team: Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Move: Signed a two-year deal for $50 millionOK, you probably remember this one. Brady, who turns 43 in August and definitely did not move to Florida as part of a midlife crisis, left the Patriots after the best 20-year period in recent sports history and signed with the Buccaneers, who have spent most of their NFL existence as an also-ran. Brady’s main job is to be better than Jameis Winston, which won’t be hard since Winston had as many pick-sixes last year (seven) as Brady had in the previous decade. In Tampa Bay, Brady will get a collaborative head coach in Bruce Arians, plus a stout defense returning all of its starters coordinated by Todd Bowles. With Brady, Tampa gets the most famous player in NFL history to turn around a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2007. And even if he can’t, he’ll sell a lot of jerseys.Old Team: Carolina PanthersNew Team: New England PatriotsThe Move: Signed a one-year deal for $1 million plus incentives worth up to $7.5 millionBrady gets replaced in New England by Newton, who has one of the rarest résumés of all time: He’s a college football national champion, Heisman Trophy winner, no. 1 pick, and the 2015 NFL MVP. Despite Newton’s accomplishments and his relative youth at 31 years old, he signed for the veteran minimum of $1 million—and just $550,000 guaranteed—with incentives worth up to $7.5 million. Meanwhile, Cleveland gave $8 million guaranteed to Case Keenum to back up Baker Mayfield. The most generous explanation for that gap is that Newton’s health is an open question. After multiple shoulder surgeries, Newton appeared healthy only to suffer a foot injury in August that cost him most of the 2019 season and led to Carolina cutting him.Old Team: Los Angeles ChargersNew Team: Indianapolis ColtsThe Move: Signed a one-year deal for $25 millionRivers has not missed a start since 2005, and now he is reunited with Colts head coach Frank Reich (his former offensive coordinator) and Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni (his former quarterbacks coach).Old Team: Jacksonville JaguarsNew Team: Chicago BearsThe Move: Traded for a fourth-round pickThe Bears brought in The Guy You’re Not Supposed to Worry About to back up Mitchell Trubisky and then declined Trubisky’s fifth-year option. This training camp “battle” may be over before it begins.Old Team: New Orleans SaintsNew Team: Carolina PanthersThe Move: Signed a three-year deal for $63 millionBridgewater parlayed five starts last year into the same three-year cash flow ($63 million) as Patrick Mahomes. The conservative quarterback will now team up with one of the most aggressive passing coaches in football in former LSU passing game coordinator Joe Brady, who was named the Panthers’ offensive coordinator this offseason.Old Team: Los Angeles RamsNew Team: Atlanta FalconsThe Move: One year for $5.5 millionThis is sort of a homecoming for Gurley, who was a star at the University of Georgia. Gurley, who turns 26 next month, will try to regain the stardom he earned in Los Angeles before chronic knee issues diminished his abilities and led to the Rams releasing him in March, just two years after he signed a contract extension with $45 million guaranteed. Gurley replaces longtime Atlanta running back Devonta Freeman, but the Falcons threw the most pass attempts in 2019 and figure to be near the top of the leaderboards again in 2020.“The main question that no one seems to know is, ‘What’s his health status? What’s his workload?’” Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter in May. “He averaged about 17 touches a game last year, which is a little bit lower than he had been when he was All-Pro. We’re just going to have to find that out once we get here and get him working, get him up and running.”Old Team: Arizona CardinalsNew Team: Houston TexansThe Move: Traded with a second- and future fourth-round pick for DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-rounderIn 2016, David Johnson had 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns. Since then, he has 2,191 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns. Despite that drop-off and his cap hit—the second highest among running backs in 2020—Texans head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien traded superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a pick for Johnson and two picks. Johnson replaces Carlos Hyde, who had the first 1,000-yard season of his career in Houston last year, and if Johnson stays healthy, perhaps he could be another surprise in the Houston backfield.Old Team: Los Angeles ChargersNew Team: Denver BroncosThe Move: Two years for $16 millionGordon’s failed holdout ended with him going to division rival Denver, which will play the Chargers twice.Old Team: Houston TexansNew Team: Arizona CardinalsThe Move: Traded along with a fourth-rounder for David Johnson, Arizona’s second-rounder and a future fourth-rounderFollowing this deal, Hopkins will play with second-year quarterback Kyler Murray in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid system. It will be interesting to see how Hopkins is used. Last year, the Cardinals ran 216 plays with four receivers and zero tight ends, almost as much as the rest of the NFL combined. But Kingsbury reduced that usage after injuries and inexperience caught up with his receiving corps, and the team relied on its rushing attack instead. But now that Arizona has Hopkins in addition to third-year wideout Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald, and last year’s rookies, perhaps Kingsbury will return to a more Air Raid–heavy approach.Old Team: Minnesota VikingsNew Team: Buffalo BillsThe Move: Traded for Buffalo’s first-, fifth-, sixth-rounders in 2020, fourth-rounder in 2021The Hopkins move became hilarious once the Vikings got a better trade haul for a lesser player on the same day. Diggs posted enough passive-aggressive social media posts to get traded to Buffalo, where he will be part of Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane’s attempt to build around quarterback Josh Allen. For all of the talk about Allen’s arm being a cannon, he was among the NFL’s least accurate deep passers in 2019. Enter Diggs, one of the best deep-threat receivers: He ranked second to Michael Thomas in and set a career high in receiving yards (1,130) last year. On paper, pairing Diggs and John Brown as speedsters running deep routes with slot man Cole Beasley and tight end Dawson Knox working underneath makes sense. On the field, Diggs may not be as effective. His yards per target last year was 38 percent higher than his career average, suggesting it may have been an outlier season.Old Team: Los Angeles RamsNew Team: Houston TexansThe Move: Traded with a 2022 fourth-rounder for a 2020 second-rounderCooks is now on his fourth team in his seven-year career. After four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, Cooks suffered two concussions last year and logged just 583 yards. Houston sending a second-rounder for him was shocking.Old Team: San Francisco 49ersNew Team: New Orleans SaintsThe Move: Signed a two-year deal for $24 millionAfter years of the team using Alvin Kamara as the de facto no. 2 receiver, Sanders steps into the role as a proper second option on the outside. Sanders was last seen nearly reeling in a potential game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, . The Saints may give Sanders his next-best chance to get back to the game, and vice versa.Old Team: Retired (Patriots held his rights)New Team: Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Move: Traded with a seventh-rounder for a fourth-rounderGronk stopped selling CBD oil long enough to unretire and reunite with Brady in Tampa Bay. Gronk is regaining the 20 pounds he lost once he retired, but we’ll see if he is anywhere near the same player he was in 2017, when he caught 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns. But Gronk hasn’t played a full season since 2011 and playing through painful injuries is what led to his retirement in the first place. We’ll see whether his connection to Brady can work in Florida, but first we have to see whether he can stay on the field.Let’s say that Gronk can stay healthy. He’d give Tampa the most loaded tight end group in football alongside former Alabama standout O.J. Howard and end zone magnet Cameron Brate. Tampa has perhaps the NFL’s best receiving combo in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but little depth behind them, and it would make sense for Tampa Bay to lean on its tight end depth. But head coach Bruce Arians has a reputation for , so it will be interesting to see Gronk’s place in this offense.Old Team: Dallas CowboysNew Team: Las Vegas RaidersThe Move: Signed a one-year deal for $4 millionWitten unretired from the Monday Night Football announcing booth last year to return to Dallas, where he looked cooked. Now he gets $4 million to be a highly paid babysitter as he serves as a role model for the dozens of 20-something Raiders players who just moved to Las Vegas.Old Team: Washington TBDsNew Team: San Francisco 49ersThe Move: Traded for a 2021 third- and 2020 fifth-round pickThe elite left tackle, who was clearly Washington’s best player in the past decade, had a highly publicized dispute with the team after he said the team medical staff withheld information from him about a growth on his scalp that turned out to be cancerous. “I almost lost my life,” Williams in October.Washington refused to trade Williams for months, but eventually acquiesced and sent him to San Francisco, where Williams will play for former Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The move may not have worked without longtime 49ers left tackle Joe Staley until after the team swung the Williams deal, thus preventing Washington from raising its asking price.Old Team: Tennessee TitansNew Team: Cleveland BrownsThe Move: Signed a three-year deal for $42 millionThe Browns could barely protect quarterback Baker Mayfield last year, so they spent in free agency for Conklin, the former no. 8 pick in the 2016 draft. He has been solid in Tennessee, but is a huge upgrade over Cleveland’s past options at tackle.Old Team: Jacksonville JaguarsNew Team: Baltimore RavensThe Move: Traded for a fifth-round pickIt’s not often that a defensive end with a 95 overall Madden rating gets dealt for a fifth-round pick. The Ravens have the NFL’s deepest secondary, and they made what might be the move of the offseason by stealing Campbell from the Jaguars to bolster their pass rush. Campbell, who is tied for the third-most quarterback hits in the past three seasons (77), pairs with Baltimore pass rusher Matt Judon to give the Ravens defense a serious chance at repeating its success from last year.Old Team: San Francisco 49ersNew Team: Indianapolis ColtsThe Move: Traded for a first-rounderThe 49ers dealt their defensive captain and the most underrated player on their fearsome defensive line for Indy’s no. 13 pick in the draft. The Niners ultimately used their first-rounder (no. 14 after a swap with Tampa Bay) on University of South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. Kinlaw is a cheaper option than Buckner, who Indianapolis signed to a contract extension that pays more than $20 million annually. The 49ers hope their defensive talent is so deep they can get by with Kinlaw playing for cheap, and the Colts hope Buckner can bring the interior presence they lacked last year to dominate at the line of scrimmage. Indy was in the bottom quarter of the league in quarterback knockdown rate last year, but this could be a much better pass rushing group if outside linebackers Justin Houston and Kemoko Turay stay healthy.Old Team: Denver BroncosNew Team: Los Angeles ChargersThe Move: Signed a two-year deal for $17 millionHarris ascended from undrafted free agent to the league’s best slot cornerback in his 20s, which is impressive enough, but last year he shifted to outside cornerback full time at 30 years old. His versatility and Super Bowl pedigree make him an excellent fit in Los Angeles, where he’ll play with a strong pass rush and a deep secondary. Between Harris and defensive back Derwin James, the Chargers now have two of the more versatile defensive backs in the NFL and can play different defensive schemes without substituting players. For a Chargers team that moved on from Rivers and will be playing quarterback Tyrod Taylor and/or rookie Justin Herbert, its best offense may be a good defense.Old Team: Detroit LionsNew Team: Philadelphia EaglesThe Move: Traded for third- and fifth-round picksThe Eagles have needed cornerback depth since their Super Bowl win (and before that, too, if we’re being honest), but had ignored the problem with Band-Aid solutions. Rather than shell out a king’s ransom of two first-round picks for Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey, the Eagles waited until they could snag Slay for cheap. Slay is one of the best cover corners in football, and while he wasn’t spectacular under Lions head coach Matt Patricia, he figures to rebound with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who was his head coach for his rookie year in Detroit. Philly has already given Slay a contract paying him $43 million over the next three years, so the team seems confident in his ability to contribute. For Detroit, this meant the team traded away its two best defensive backs in less than a year (they dealt Quandre Diggs to Seattle for a fifth-rounder in October) and didn’t get more than a third-rounder in return. This trade is a good example of good organizations getting better and bad organizations getting worse.Old Team: Philadelphia EaglesNew Team: New Orleans SaintsThe Move: Signed a deal that pays $24 million over the next three yearsWhen the Saints played the Eagles in the divisional round of the playoffs in January 2019, New Orleans head coach Sean Payton told reporters that letting Malcolm Jenkins leave for the Eagles was one of the bigger mistakes the team has made. “Letting him out of the building certainly wasn’t a smart decision,” Payton in January.A year later, Payton got his chance to bring Jenkins back.Philadelphia booted Jenkins this offseason after a six-year tenure with the team that included Philly’s Super Bowl win. Jenkins returned to New Orleans, where he started his career with the 2009 Saints squad that won the Super Bowl. Jenkins, one of the NFL’s most visible activists for social justice (he landed in June), will fill the on-field void left by Vonn Bell, who left for the Bengals in free agency. At 32 years old, Jenkins is no longer at his peak, but he is playing on perhaps the most stacked team he’s seen in his decadelong career.Old Team: Los Angeles RamsNew Team: Dallas CowboysThe Move: Signed a deal that pays $2.5 million in 2020Legatron is perhaps the only kicker outside of Baltimore’s Justin Tucker who could warrant inclusion on this list. The longtime Rams kicker left L.A. for Dallas this offseason and replaces Kai Forbath, who himself replaced Brett Maher last season after Maher was let go by Dallas for missing a third of his kicks for the team. The Cowboys have not had an above-average kicking season by field goal percentage since 2015. Zuerlein was above that mark from 2016 to 2018. While his percentage dipped in 2019, the Cowboys are hoping for an improvement in what they’ve gotten from the position in recent years.Matt and Craig give out their own awards for the winner of the night, the biggest snub, and the best and worst moment of the night, and discuss who has the brightest future after Monday night’s resultsPlus, JJ tells House and Raheem what bets he’s made already to see whether they will give him their seal of approvalPlus, Musa, Ryan, and Flo talk about Chris Kamara, who revealed this week his struggles with apraxia and give him flowers on his pioneering and popular media careerBefore starting the show, Verno and KOC share memories of their friend and colleague Tjarks. Then they answer a few basketball questions.The 2022 Goalkeepers Report is out, and Bill Gates joins ‘Plain English’ to discuss its findings. Plus, the "best news in the world," why genetics is the most exciting domain in all of science, and more.Week 1 is in the books, and Buffalo and Kansas City separated themselves from the field. But how far did hot teams like the Vikings and Chargers climb? And how far did the Cowboys fall?

Filed under:The 22 most important players who changed jerseys this offseason, from Tom Brady to Darius SlayRemembering every bit of NFL player movement during the offseason is hard. It’s one thing to see a push notification saying DeAndre Hopkins was traded to the Cardinals in March, but it’s another to see him in a Cardinals uniform. Every year there are a few players who make us think, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” This year may have more of those moments than usual. The most important NFL transactions this year happened in mid-March, when there was more pressing news in the world than...

The Best NFL Players on New Teams This Season

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