Russell Wilson headlines NFL's 'Faces In New Places'

Of all the things Tom Brady has done to rewrite NFL history — and that list is very, very long — there is one thing that won’t show up on any statistical list. Yet it may go down as one of the most profound transformations of all.

His power move to force his freedom from the Patriots after 20 years not only set the stage for the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl season in 2020, but it opened the floodgates for other players to dictate their futures in a way they never could before. Brady not only changed the game on the field, he changed pro football off it as well.

And while there may never be another player to accomplish as much as Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner who owns nearly every passing record, what he did to rewrite the rules of player movement will likely benefit players, teams and the balance of power in the NFL for generations.

A year after Brady moved to Tampa, Matthew Stafford told the Lions he’d had enough of losing and needed to go elsewhere. Cue the blockbuster trade to the Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff and two first-round draft picks and — voila! — the stage is set for the Rams’ first-ever Super Bowl title in Los Angeles.

The trend continues, and now another group of elite players will dot the rosters of new teams who are paying big to get a shot at making a Super Bowl run.

The headliner of the "Class of 2022 Faces in New Places" is Russell Wilson in Denver.

The 33-year-old quarterback once envisioned playing his entire career in Seattle, and the Seahawks’ Super Bowl title in February of 2014 sure felt as if this could be the NFL’s next dynasty. But after Pete Carroll’s infamous decision not to go with Marshawn Lynch with the game on the line and Wilson’s interception in the end zone dashed those plans in the next year's Super Bowl, the Seahawks haven't been made it back to the big game.  

Wilson has super-charged expectations in Denver, especially after signing a five-year, $245 million extension last week. The Broncos haven't been the same since Peyton Manning delivered a Super Bowl title in his final season seven years ago. But the Broncos’ bold move to trade for Wilson signaled a Super Bowl-or-bust dynamic much the way Tampa’s signing of Brady felt in 2020 and Stafford’s move to the Rams a year later. Could this be three years in a row where the Super Bowl-winning quarterback makes a run in his first year with his new team?

It would be an unprecedented hat trick, although we suspect Wilson may not have enough around him to make it happen. That and the fact that Wilson may simply not be as good a quarterback in a pass-first offense as Brady and Stafford. Truth be told, the “let Wilson cook” mantra in Seattle worked at times, but he may not be able to reliably and consistently carry an offense over a prolonged period of time. We’ll see.

The other blockbuster quarterback move, of course, was Deshaun Watson to the Browns, but it’s a far different dynamic. Watson was sued by more than two dozen women who accused him of sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault in connections with massages while he was with the Texans. He eventually reached a settlement to serve an 11-game suspension, and he settled civil lawsuits with 24 of the 25 women who sued him. Once he does return, the cloud of controversy will undoubtedly surround him for the rest of the season. 

Matt Ryan is the other big-name passer to move on, as the Falcons accommodated his request to be traded after the team went all-in on a potential Watson deal. Ryan isn’t the same quarterback he was during his prime, but he joins a Colts team that can protect him with the running game and allow him to use play-action passes to get the team back into playoff contention. It’s not an unreasonable goal, because this team was close last year with Carson Wentz, who flubbed his chance down the stretch and is now in Washington with a mediocre Commanders team.

It’s not just quarterbacks who are starting to control where they play. While free agency continues to allow most players at least a chance to cash in elsewhere, teams almost always hold onto their very best players. Key word: almost. Circumstances occasionally dictate changes, as two of the league’s premier receivers found out in the offseason.

Tyreek Hill felt there was no future for him in Kansas City, so he leveraged a trade to the Dolphins after the Jets expressed interest. That means Tua Tagovailoa gets one of the most dynamic playmakers in the game. On the flip side, Patrick Mahomes has to work with a slightly younger and less explosive receiving corps.

Ditto for Aaron Rodgers, who loses his go-to guy in Davante Adams. After Rodgers got his new deal with Green Bay in the offseason, Adams wanted his payday, too. And while the Packers were willing to pony up a blockbuster deal, Adams preferred a new home in Las Vegas, where he gets to reunite with Derek Carr, his old college quarterback at Fresno State. They’re hoping to get the Raiders back into the Super Bowl conversation.

Another marquee player who sought greener pastures: Pass rusher Khalil Mack, who worked a trade to the Chargers in hopes of helping Justin Herbert put the Rams’ co-tenants into the mix for a championship.

Of course, neither of the two New York teams are in a one-player-away situation, so scratch that idea. But as the season is about to unfold, all anyone asks of the Giants and Jets is improvement. While fans in Denver, Miami, Las Vegas and Los Angeles can think about watching their teams in January, and possibly February, fans in New York at least deserve some indication that the arrow is pointed in the right direction.

That means Zach Wilson has to show he can be “the guy,” and if Daniel Jones can somehow flourish with a quarterback-friendly coach like Brian Daboll, then maybe there’s hope. And if not Jones, then the Giants’ next quarterback is playing on Saturdays this fall.

Welcome to kickoff 2022. Enjoy the season, everyone.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”