The NFL isn’t quite the NBA with all of the star shuffling that goes on, but this offseason has been one for the books.
We have seen quite a few big names changing laundry and zip codes—chasing better opportunities, more money, or simply by getting dealt.
Let’s take a look back at what’s happened thus far this offseason—and take a look at 10 NFL stars that you already FORGOT are going to be on new teams in 2023.
Marcus Davenport (Saints to Vikings)
Marcus Davenport had been with the Saints ever since they took him 14th overall in the 2018 Draft out of UTSA.
While it is rare to see a player taken that high out of school like UTSA, Davenport really made a name for himself playing defensive end at the mid-major, earning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year honors his final season on campus, after notching 55 tackles, 17.5 for a loss—and 8.5 sacks.
Though he is coming off a down year, he has proven himself at the pro level, take 2021 for example, when Davenport notched nine sacks in just 11 games, most of which, he played in a rotational role.
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Hopefully, the five offseason surgeries he’s had already this year will put him in a better position to play a full season for his new team, the Minnesota Vikings, who are already getting creative with how they plan to use the athletic edge rusher, listing him as an outside linebacker for the first time in his career.
Minnesota has high ambitions for him, based on the $13 mil they doled out to him on a one-year deal, which is no small sum—even amid the hyper-competitive market for talented edge rushers.
Adam Thielen (Vikings to Panthers)
There are few players with more impressive climbs from irrelevancy to stardom than Adam Thielen. I mean, the man played Division II football at Minnesota State, wasn’t invited to the NFL combine, and ultimately went undrafted in the 2012 Draft, yet still managed to establish himself as a Pro Bowl receiver with the Minnesota Vikings.
This, of course, didn’t happen overnight… It was a gradual process. He made just two starts in each of his first two years in the league—and never topped 150 yards in a season, but when Stefon Diggs was sidelined with a groin injury in 2016—Thielen got his opportunity and never looked back.
He broke 100 receiving yards, finishing with 127 and a touchdown in a win against the Texans—and ever since then he has essentially been synonymous with the Vikings purple.
Thielen was one of the most consistent receivers in the league over the next two seasons—and put up monster numbers, totaling 91, then 113 receptions and a combined 2649 yards and 13 touchdowns. His dynamic route-running ability paired phenomenally with the slightly more explosive, downfield threat the Vikings had in Diggs.
Unfortunately, injuries started to catch up with him in 2019, and he hasn’t gotten the same kind of usage since, but he is still a true professional—and having averaged 10 touchdowns over the last three seasons—he’s no slouch either.
The Vikings, however, had to part ways with their long-time star due to salary cap constraints this offseason—and he subsequently signed a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers.
Hopefully, he will be able to operate as a security blanket for their young quarterback, Bryce Young, who they took with the first overall pick in this year’s draft and extend his career further… Not just for his sake either… It is also going to take some time to get used to seeing him in something other than the Minnesota purple and gold!
Otherwise, this chapter of his career might fall into the abyss of NFL history like Randy Moss on the 49ers!
CJ Gardner-Johnson (Eagles to Lions)
Gardner-Johnson was one of many casualties to a brutal cap situation the Eagles found themselves in following their 2022 Super Bowl run.
After being best known during his time in New Orleans for getting punched by Michael Thomas, he really made a name for himself on the field during his lone season in Philly.
Not only did the team find success, winning the NFC Championship and narrowly missing a chance at Super Bowl glory against the Chiefs, but CJ also managed to lead the league in interceptions with six, despite missing the final third of the year after suffering a lacerated kidney in Week 12… Which is insane.
Crazy to think that he’s going to change teams after a stretch like that, but the Lions offered him $8 mil to bring his ball-hawking skills to their defense and I guess he couldn’t say no.
Greedy Williams (Browns to Eagles)
Greedy Williams was one of the hottest names in the 2019 NFL Draft—even among an extremely talented and deep group of LSU Tigers that were coming out that year. There was also a sort of mystique about him, which, admittedly worked against him to a degree—because he decided to skip his 2019 college season entirely and spend a full year preparing for the draft.
But still… Williams was an All-American and two-time All-SEC—and at 6’ 2” and 190, he had the quintessential build you’d want in an NFL corner.
And though he fell a good bit in the draft, primarily because of the time away from organized competition, he was still an early second-round pick—taken by the Cleveland Browns 46th overall.
Williams has struggled to stay on the field thus far in his NFL career—having only played double-digit games twice in four tries—and missing the 2020 season entirely, but when he’s healthy he can still have the kind of impact that prognosticators predicted he would when they watched him lock down opposing receivers during his last season in Baton Rouge.
Cleveland decided to move in a different direction and didn’t pick up his fifth-year option, allowing Greedy to hit the open market—and the Eagles, having lost some key contributors in their defensive secondary already this offseason, jumped on the opportunity, bringing him in on a one-year prove-it type deal.
If Williams can find a role and contribute to what was a top-five defense in the league last year—he could set himself up to really cash in next year.
Juju Smith-Schuster (Chiefs to Patriots)
Juju Smith-Schuster has had a rather interesting start to his NFL career…During his first two seasons, he was a beneficiary of a high-powered Steelers offense and put up some monster numbers.
Between his affable personality, his production, and his fun name—Juju quickly became a fan favorite, especially once Antonio Brown’s spiral worsened and he started to take public shots at the young wide out.
But somewhere along the way a combination of TikToks and immature antics caught up with him—and he started to fall out of favor with the fans.
And after five years with the Steelers, he landed in Kansas City, as an extra piece on another explosive offense.
In fact, people might not have even remembered that Smith-Schuster played for the Chiefs had it not been for that pivotal holding penalty he drew at the end of the Super Bowl!
But, alas, he did—and he parlayed that into a three-year $33 million dollar deal with the Patriots to make New England his new home.
Can’t wait to see how his personality ultimately meshes will Belichick’s and the Patriot Way!
Jakobi Meyers (Patriots to Raiders)
Jakobi Meyers was the latest in a long line up player development success stories in New England, as the young wide receiver, who went undrafted in 2019, slowly climbed his way into the starting lineup, before emerging as the team’s number one option for the last couple of seasons.
His numbers may be relatively modest compared to what’s generally expected out of a true number one, but considering he had Mac Jones throwing him the football—and in a run heavy offense designed to limit the unit’s reliance on its young quarterback, I’d say going over 800 yards each of the last two seasons was actually pretty impressive.
And after playing for pennies his first five seasons, Meyers is finally ready to cash in—as he signed a three-year $33 million dollar deal with the Raiders to reunite with Josh McDaniels.
Calais Campbell (Ravens to Falcons)
At this point, there is little that the now 36-year old Calais Campbell hasn’t achieved in the NFL. He’s a three-time All-Pro, six-time Pro Bowler was even named to the 2010s Al-Decade team.
All that has really eluded him is a Super Bowl, but it doesn’t seem like it is bothering him that much… considering he decided to sign with the Falcons after the Ravens released him this offseason.
I know he’s getting up there in years, but from where I sit, Campbell could still certainly contribute to a contender, which… Atlanta is not.
But I guess that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise… After all, the guy who played the bulk of his career for the Cardinals and Jaguars, two franchises that are antithetical to winning.
Allen Robinson (Rams to Steelers)
Allen Robinson’s lone season in the City of Angels frankly couldn’t have gone any worse… The former Pro Bowl receiver was brought in as reinforcements to an already deep receiving core that featured studs like Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, and Van Jefferson…
People were extremely bullish on Robinson’s ability to slot into Sean McVay’s offense—and thought that he would be hungry for some production after suffering through eight years of playing for the Jaguars and Bears—two franchises not exactly known for their offensive competencies.
After all… Robinson not get the kind of name recognition as some of his contemporaries, but we are talking about a guy that put up 1400 yards with Blake Bortles as his quarterback, 1147 with Mitch Trubisky, and perhaps most impressively, 1250 with the two-headed monster of Trubisky and Nick Foles throwing him the ball, while Matt Nagy desperately tried to save his job.
Unfortunately, it never really materialized for Robinson with the Rams… The team stunk, Stafford battled injuries—and he didn’t even top 350 yards for the first time since 2017, when he played just one game due to injury.
The Steelers, however, look to be building something with Kenny Pickett—and perhaps a return to Pennsylvania is exactly what the former Nittany Lion needs to get back on track.
Mike McGlinchey (49ers to Broncos)
Though offensive lineman acquisitions are rarely “sexy” – Broncos fans should be ecstatic that their team was able to ink Mike McGlinchey to a five-year $87.5 million dollar deal.
The 6’ 7”, 300-plus pound mountain of a man has been solid as anything, ever since he broke into the league in 2018.
Coming out of Notre Dame as the ninth overall pick, expectations were high, no doubt… But considering he started all 16 games his rookie season and has been force to be reckoned with ever since—I’d say he’s done well to meet them.
Now, McGlinchey has a whole new challenge in front of him—to help protect and revitalize the Ghost of Russell Wilson.
But with Sean Payton also coming to town and scheming the offense—and considering the integral part that McGlinchey played in making guys like Jimmy Garoppolo look like competent NFL starters—I’d wager that he’s up for the task.
I mean… Let’s face it—it can’t get any worse in Denver than it was in 2022, so, really, with the money—it was a no-lose proposition for the offensive tackle to join the Broncos!
Jimmie Ward (49ers to Texans)
Jimmie Ward is another former San Francisco 49er that has left town this offseason. The 30th overall pick in the 2014 draft out of Northern Illinois has played his entire nine-year career in San Francisco—and been a steady contributor ever since he broke into the regular rotation.
He did, however, get bumped from his traditional spot at the safety position to nickel corner last year with the emergence of Tashaun Gipson, so perhaps he’s leaving the perennial contender for Houston in the hopes that he’ll be able to reestablish himself as a top safety in the league.
At a minimum, he’ll be getting a nice tax break moving from California to Texas, so at least he’s got that going for him if he can’t hack it as a safety anymore!
Which NFL star did you forget is on a new team in 2023? Did we miss anyone?
