10 NFL Players You Didn’t Realize Already Changed Teams in the 2026 Offseason
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
It feels like the NFL offseason has just gotten rolling. Somehow, the NFL has already completely reshuffled the deck of players in ways that will take most casual fans until training camp to fully process.
We have got Pro Bowlers in new helmets, franchise cornerstones shipped to division rivals, and quite a few big names getting paid by two teams in 2026.
If you made the mistake of blinking this offseason, here are ten NFL players you probably didn’t realize already changed teams. Let’s get into it.
Which NFL players have lowkey changed teams this offseason?
Minkah Fitzpatrick, S: New York Jets
We’re starting here because this one is genuinely hard to believe when you say it out loud.
Minkah Fitzpatrick… the five-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, one of the most decorated safeties of his generation—was traded to the New York Jets for a seventh-round pick… and turned around and signed an extremely friendly team deal shortly thereafter.
This one flew a little bit under the radar because Fitzpatrick is going to turn 30 this season and is coming off what was, by his standards, a down year… but for the Jets, this is a real move. They signed him to a three-year, $40 million extension immediately after the trade.
New York’s defense has been trying to piece together a legitimate safety tandem for years, and landing a player of Fitzpatrick’s pedigree, even if he’s slightly past his absolute peak in the NFL, is a significant upgrade to a secondary that desperately needed one.
If you are doubting what this shockingly quiet deal could mean for the Jets, keep in mind, Fitzpatrick was stranded in Miami, where dysfunction was running rampant… and the fire sale that followed it gave him a chance for a homecoming.
David Montgomery, Running Back: Houston Texans
The Detroit Lions traded one of their most beloved players away this offseason, and while most of the NFL seems to be sleeping on this deal, the Detroit fan base is not quietly accepting it.
David Montgomery was the physical, between-the-tackles complement to Jahmyr Gibbs’ explosiveness — the short-yardage back who kept chains moving and took the hard yards when Detroit needed them most.
The Lions dealt him to the Houston Texans in exchange for offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, a 2026 fourth-round pick, and a 2027 seventh-rounder.
Amon-Ra St. Brown publicly said he was “sick” about losing Montgomery and called him “an RB1 on 31 other teams.”
That is a remarkable statement from a teammate about a player your own front office just shipped out.
Montgomery reportedly wanted more opportunity after being second fiddle in Detroit’s backfield in 2025, and rest assured, he’s going to get it in Houston.
For the Texans, he steps into an offense built around C.J. Stroud that has never quite solved its short-yardage and goal-line efficiency—and is in desperate need of some balance via the run game.
Adding a proven, physical runner to that system is a sensible piece of the puzzle. Detroit is betting Gibbs can carry the full load. Houston is betting on a player who has earned every carry he’s ever gotten.
And for some reason, no one seems to be paying attention to this deal?!
Wan’Dale Robinson, WR: Tennessee Titans
Wan’Dale Robinson left the New York Giants to sign with the Tennessee Titans as one of the centerpieces of their aggressive offseason spending spree.
And here’s the thing that makes this move genuinely interesting… Robinson is reuniting with new Titans offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The duo had two productive seasons together in New York, and Daboll knows exactly how to deploy Robinson’s quickness and route-running ability in the short and intermediate game.
The fit makes sense on paper. The Titans have over $90 million in cap space, they have a young quarterback situation they’re trying to build around, and adding a proven slot weapon with an established relationship with the play-caller is the kind of foundational move that can accelerate an offense’s development quickly.
What’s harder to explain is paying $19.5 million per year for a player who has never cracked 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Robinson is a nice NFL player. But that annual value puts him alongside some of the better receivers in this league, yet he hasn’t shown he can operate as anything more than a dynamic second or third option.
Riq Woolen, Cornerback: Philadelphia Eagles
One of the more quietly surprising moves of this entire offseason: a Super Bowl champion cornerback leaving the defending champs to sign with the NFC’s other powerhouse.
Woolen spent four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks—and was a big part of that defensive revival in the Pacific Northwest, which culminated with Seattle winning Super Bowl LX…
But now, he is changing allegiances and has joined Philadelphia on a one-year deal worth up to $15 million. The Eagles lost Adoree’ Jackson at cornerback this offseason and needed a legitimate starter opposite Quinyon Mitchell. Woolen is exactly that profile. He was a Pro Bowler as a rookie in 2022, racked up 53 passes defensed over four seasons in Seattle, and posted a 31.3 percent completion rate allowed in man coverage last season—a legitimately strong number.
Leave it to Howie Roseman to get the Eagles a Super Bowl-winning corner with Pro Bowl upside for essentially nothing against the cap this season. That is exactly the kind of move that makes Philadelphia perpetually difficult to beat—they find value in places other franchises aren’t willing to look.
DJ Moore, Wide Receiver: Buffalo Bills
DJ Moore spent last season as the number one receiver for the Chicago Bears—a franchise that quickly exited full rebuild mode thanks to the growth of Caleb Williams.
But now, they are betting on the youth movement in their receiver room, and Moore is in Buffalo, set to catch passes from Josh Allen, in one of the most receiver-friendly offenses in the AFC.
This one kind of snuck past the general public because it happened before the NFL offseason really started to heat up… so for anyone who missed it, the Bears traded Moore to the Bills along with a 2026 fifth-round pick in exchange for a second-round selection.
Chicago gets the draft capital to keep building around its franchise quarterback. Buffalo gets a legitimate stud receiver at 28 years old who has been productive at every stop of his career, regardless of how incompetent some of the teams he was on were.
While Williams and the Bears are really coming into their own, it is hard to argue that this is not a significant upgrade in the situation for Moore.
Josh Allen makes every receiver around him better—the completion percentage jump he had the season Stefon Diggs arrived proved that definitively.
Adding a polished route runner and contested-catch threat like Moore to that equation is going to create real problems for opposing defensive coordinators who already have to account for everything else Buffalo does.
The Bears kind of had to make this move given the salary it unlocked—and the other holes they had to plug… but make no mistake about it… Chicago fans are going to feel this one the first time they watch Moore have a big game in a Bills uniform. And those games are coming for this star NFL player.
Isiah Pacheco, RB: Detroit Lions
After the Detroit Lions begrudgingly traded David Montgomery away this offseason, they found themselves thin at running back behind Jahmyr Gibbs.
Their answer was to sign former Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, who was usurped in Kansas City by Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, to a one-year deal worth $1.81 million.
Pacheco is a player the Chiefs loved when healthy. He rushed for 935 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023 and was a key contributor during Kansas City’s back-to-back Super Bowl runs. The problem is that over the last two seasons, injuries have cost him fourteen games, and his starting job quietly slipped away.
Which… is probably why this deal snuck by right under our noses!
At this stage of his career, it is unlikely to expect Pacheco to achieve the level of production that Montgomery would’ve…, but if it is just a matter of spelling Jahmyr Gibbs, he should be able to hit the mark.
Don’t let the big name fool you, for Detroit, this is a low-risk depth signing behind one of the best backs in the league.
Travis Etienne, Running Back: New Orleans Saints
While this deal might not be getting a lot of national attention, it is a big deal in the Big Easy because before Travis Etienne left home to become one of the best running backs in college football history at Clemson, he was one of the most popular young football stars in the state of Louisiana.
Etienne is coming off a career year with the Jaguars, and now, at 27 years old, he’s coming home. Four years, $52 million with the New Orleans Saints.
The football case is clear—with Alvin Kamara aging out of relevance, New Orleans needed a backfield centerpiece and just got one of the more complete running backs available.
Plus, the homecoming angle here is genuinely compelling. Etienne has talked about a wrong that needed to be righted ever since he left Jennings, Louisiana, for college.
One can only hope that this reunion is a success for both sides!
Reed Blankenship, Safety: Houston Texans
This one is an undrafted free agent story that somehow keeps getting better.
Reed Blankenship came out of Middle Tennessee State in 2022—not exactly an NFL pipeline program for players… and went undrafted.
He managed to work his way onto the Eagles roster and spent four years with Philadelphia, turning himself into the quarterback of one of the best defenses in the NFL, and won a Super Bowl ring in the process.
Despite not wowing anyone with his physical attributes, by every measure, he was a foundational piece of Philadelphia’s secondary… Then free agency opened, and he quietly signed a three-year, $24.75 million deal with the Houston Texans, with $16.5 million guaranteed.
For Houston, adding a Super Bowl-winning, 27-year-old safety who has spent the last three years operating in one of the league’s most demanding defensive systems is exactly the kind of leadership the Texans need around a young roster building toward contention.
Especially with that ferocious pass rush they have in H-Town… Blankenship could be the piece that puts them over the top.
Isaiah Likely, Tight End: New York Giants
After a few years of playing understudy, Isiaah Likely finally has a chance to establish himself as the go-to tight end because the Baltimore Ravens let him walk, and the New York Giants were right there waiting.
Likely spent four seasons in Baltimore learning behind Mark Andrews, one of the best tight ends of his generation.
He flashed legitimate receiving ability every single time he got an extended opportunity, and at 25 years old, he’s now stepping into a lead role for the first time in his NFL career.
The Giants’ tight end situation has been a revolving door for years.
Adding a young, ascending player who has been developed in one of the NFL’s best tight end rooms is exactly the kind of low-profile, high-ceiling move that New York needed. Likely doesn’t come with the headline recognition of some of the other names on the market this offseason…
But Giants fans who actually watched Baltimore’s offense over the last two seasons know exactly what they’re getting — a primary receiving target in the making who could have a genuine breakout season in a system that finally features him.
Baltimore fans are quietly nervous about this one. They know what they had.
Michael Pittman Jr., Wide Receiver: Pittsburgh Steelers
One of the league’s sneaky most effective receivers, Michael Pittman Jr., was dealt this offseason in a fitting fashion… without much fanfare—to the Pittsburgh Steelers for essentially a late-round pick swap — a sixth-round pick going to Pittsburgh, a seventh coming back to Indy.
I’m sure he’s not too beat up about it, considering that the Steelers then signed him to a three-year, $59 million extension…
Honestly, this one looks like a rare win-win… The trade made sense for everyone involved. The Colts re-signed Alec Pierce as their number one option, Pittman wanted a bigger role, and Pittsburgh needed a legitimate receiver to pair with DK Metcalf.
Colts fans probably didn’t see this coming as fast as it happened, as Pittman has been their most consistent offensive player, and watching him sign a big extension in a different NFL uniform is going to sting regardless of the logic behind it… and the sixth round pick was kind of a weak haul, but you have to respect Indy sending a good soldier like Pittman to a good situation.
Steelers fans have to be pumped… Pittsburgh’s receiver room a year ago was a one-trick pony, but adding a guy like Pittman changes the whole dynamic—and might even be enough to entice Aaron Rodgers to hold off on retiring for one more year.
