The NFL prides itself over parity. Generally every year about half the teams who made the playoffs the prior season will miss it the next, the salary cap makes it incredibly hard to keep good teams together and the margins for error are slim.
And then, for 20 years, there were Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. In a dynasty unlikely to be duplicated, the duo helped lead the historically inept Pats to heights unseen: six Super Bowl wins, nine Super Bowl appearances, 13 AFC Championship Game appearances (including eight in a row from 2011-18) and 17 AFC East titles (including 11 straight).
Now it's over... right? Brady is gone, an unthinkable thought, while Belichick looks to continue his dominance with a new quarterback. These two highlight the change of the 2020 season, as many stars are on new teams heading into this season. Here are the nine biggest:
Tom Brady: At age 43 he's moved on. Two decades after taking the reins from an injured Drew Bledsoe, Brady's time in New England is over after a difficult 2019 season, at least by the organization's lofty standards. And like any good old person, he moved to Florida, signing a two-year, $50-million deal with the Buccaneers. After moving on from the turnover-prone Jameis Winston, Tampa is in full "win-now" mode, with an underrated defense, a pair of wide receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and a couple of big-time additions that will give Brady more weapons offensively than he's had in years. That includes a guy with whom he's a bit familiar...
Rob Gronkowski: After a year away singing with a mask on and doing some TV work, Gronk is back. The last time we saw the future Hall of Fame tight end he was a largely broken down shell of himself, yet there he was making the two biggest plays in the Patriots' AFC title game win over Kansas City and Super Bowl LIII. Now in theory he's healed up, and he made his return at age 31 by basically telling New England he was only coming back if he was traded to Tampa Bay, a request the Pats made happen in exchange for a compensatory fourth-round draft pick. He joins a tight end room with OJ Howard and Cameron Brate, two capable players already without the addition of Gronk.
Leonard Fournette: But the Buccaneers weren't done giving their new quarterback weapons. After three years and quite a bit of disgruntlement on both sides, the Jaguars cut the former fourth overall pick in Fournette, making him the top free agent running back on the market. Jacksonville let walk a 25-year-old running back coming off a 1,152-yard season, in addition to 76 catches out of the backfield, and Tampa scooped him up for cheap (one year, $2 million). Head coach Bruce Arians claims the starting job still belongs to Ronald Jones II, who has yet to breakout in two years since being drafted in the second round, but one assumes it will only be a matter of time until Fournette starts getting the bulk of the carries.
Cam Newton: So Brady bolted for Tampa, and had Gronk and Fournette join him. Back in New England it looked for awhile like the Pats would go into the season with Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer battling for the No. 1 QB job. Then, in a classic Belichick-ian move, they brought in a former MVP on a high-risk, low-reward "prove it" deal, signing Cam Newton to a one-year, $1 million deal that could be worth up to $7.5 million. Assuming he's healthy, it could very well keep the team's AFC East streak intact... but that's a big "if". Newton saw his 2018 season shortened due to a shoulder injury, started 2019 under center but clearly wasn't healthy, and went on injured reserve after three games with a Lisfranc injury. Now 31, he's never been an elite thrower, but in his prime was invaluable as a runner, especially in short yardage situations. What he has left in the tank will dictate New England's season.
Philip Rivers: Brady isn't the only star quarterback to change scenery. Drafted in 2004 and taking the QB job in 2006, Philip Rivers spent the next 14 seasons starting for the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, a streak of 224 consecutive regular season games. Early on he took the Bolts to incredible heights, but three times in four years didn't make it out of the Divisional Round, and lost in the AFC title game the other year (reminder: he played that game with a TORN ACL). That stretch and the next decade of relative mediocrity by the Chargers has kept Rivers from "slam dunk Hall of Famer" status, but he's still more than a serviceable QB.
Alas, with Justin Herbert the heir apparent, the Chargers let Rivers go this offseason, and he's now in Indianapolis. The Colts are getting a 38-year-old who has thrown for at least 4,000 yards in seven straight seasons and hasn't missed a start since becoming a No. 1 quarterback. In a wide open AFC South, he's a good short-term solution.
DeAndre Hopkins: The most criticized trade of the offseason, the Texans traded away one of the three best wide receivers in football at age 28 with five 1,000-yard seasons in the last six years, and it's not part of a rebuild. Hopkins is now in Arizona as the new focal point in an exciting offense with big potential behind second-year quarterback Kyler Murray, who has an abundance of skill players around him. At wideout there's Hopkins, the underrated Christian Kirk and, of course, Larry Fitzgerald, while Kenyan Drake was spectacular over the second half of 2019 at running back.
As for Houston, they gave away Hopkins and a fourth-round pick, in exchange for a second-rounder, a fourth-rounder and David Johnson, who is talented but is going on five seasons removed from his All-Pro 2016 season.
Todd Gurley: In April 2018 the Rams signed Gurley to a four-year, $60-million deal to make him the richest running back in the NFL. Two years later, he was cut. After a mysterious disappearance in the team's Super Bowl run and a limited 2019 (857 rush yards, 12 TDs) there was fear about the long-term viability of Gurley's knee. Still only 26 and with 55 total touchdowns in the last three seasons, the Falcons were willing to bet those fears are overblown, signing the running back to a cheap one-year deal to replace Devonta Freeman.
Jadeveon Clowney: The former No. 1 overall draft pick was a free agent until last weekend, when he signed a one-year contract with Tennessee. It's the third team in three years for the three-time Pro Bowler, who spent 2019 with the Seahawks and had his worst statistical season (31 tackles, seven TFLs, three sacks) since a lost rookie year in 2014. His talent is unquestioned, however, and he joins forces with a Titans team that finished in the bottom half of the league in sacks and was second-worst in quarterback knockdowns.
Jamal Adams: One of the best safeties in the game challenged the Jets enough where New York finally traded the 24-year-old. First he was vocal about wanting a contract extension, then criticized the front office (multiple times) and said head coach Adam Gase wasn't the right leader for the team, and finally asked to be dealt. Seattle gladly obliged, sending a pair of first-rounders, a third-rounder and Bradley McDougald to New York to acquire the two-time All-Pro to help shore up a leaky defense. It appears to be a win-win deal: the Seahawks get an in-his-prime superstar safety, and the Jets acquire valuable first-round draft picks.
