5 NFL free agents who will star on their new teams

Look for these free agents to star on their new teams in the NFL this season.

When one door closes, another one opens. That’s the tale of NFL free agency, as veteran players go from one team to another. While some stay with the team that drafted them on a new deal, others need to go find employment somewhere else. Whether he outplayed their rookie contract and their former team can’t afford him or he underperformed, he’s poised to join a new team then.

Though it’s always a gamble to pay big money to a new player coming in during free agency, sometimes a new start is all a promising talent needs. So much of the NFL is about scheme and fit. By landing in the right situation, he can finally flourish, tapping into that great potential we all saw in him coming out of college.

Admittedly, it’s a lot of pressure for new guys coming in who are getting paid big money to live up to these lofty expectations. They may have been just a guy or one of the guys in their previous stop, but they are now being counted on to help their new team win a bunch of ball games with their specialized skill set.

Here are five players who have a chance to be stars on their new teams this fall.

5 NFL free agents who will star on new teams in 2020

Joe Schobert comes to the Jacksonville Jaguars after four years of service with the Cleveland Browns. The former star linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers had a Pro Bowl season in his second year in the league. In 2017, Schobert tied for the lead in combined tackles with 144. Despite being an integral part of the Browns defense, he proved too expensive for them in 2020.

Schobert arrives in Duval on a five-year deal worth $53.8 million. With elite tackling ability, outstanding ball skills and tremendous on-field production, the Jaguars are banking on him to be the next Paul Posluszny in Jacksonville. While Posluszny was a more decorated player in college at Penn State, Schobert has the right opportunity to become the next great Jaguars defensive player.

This rebuilding AFC South team is hoping he’ll be a tone-setter on the defensive side of the ball like Posluszny was for years. People tend to forget who important Posluszny was to the #Sacksonville defense in what was his final year in the league in 2017. Schobert has massive shoes to fill, but there is no other player in the league who can be like Posluszny was before him.

Even if there is a regime change in Jacksonville before the end of his five-year contract, Schobert will be the leader of men Posluszny and defensive end Calais Campbell were before him down in North Florida. Jacksonville might be a terrible team next year, but a healthy Schobert will give Todd Wash’s defense some much-needed bite and leadership. He will do big things in Jacksonville.