On Sunday, the Steelers moved to 4-1 on the season with a 23-9 win over the Cleveland Browns. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers continues to prove the doubters wrong — it turns out that going to Pittsburgh instead of retiring was the right move, as the Steelers look like one of the AFC's top teams.
Rodgers isn't the only player to find a new lease on life this season in a fresh uniform. There are some key players around the league who are playing their best football after finding the right system to exist in.
Here are five NFL players who have really succeeded after changing teams in the offseason.
Aaron Rodgers - Quarterback - Pittsburgh Steelers
It was fair to wonder after last season if Aaron Rodgers was washed. Coming off a torn Achilles, Rodgers led the Jets to a 5-12 record and threw double-digit interceptions for just the fourth time in his NFL career. The whole idea of Rodgers finding a new team for 2025 felt cursed, like whichever team decided to sign him would just be signing up for mediocrity and the chance to be listed on his resume in Canton.
Instead, Rodgers and the Steelers sit at 4-1 through the first five games of the season, just one win off of his 2024 total. Meanwhile, the Jets have fallen to 0-6 without Rodgers, making it a valid question if his 2024 season was actually pretty good in retrospect. He won five games with that Jets team??? That might actually boost his resume.
With a better system in place in Pittsburgh, Rodgers' numbers look much closer to what we're used to seeing from the former MVP. His completion percentage is back up to 68.7, and his touchdown rate of 7.2 percent is right around where it was when Rodgers won his most recent MVP award in 2021.
Daniel Jones - Quarterback - Indianapolis Colts
Rodgers being good in Pittsburgh was a surprise, but it isn't as big of one as what's happening in Indianapolis, where Daniel Jones looks like a totally different guy. Like, if you told me the real Daniel Jones secretly retired and this is a guy who won a look-a-like contest who just so happened to be a better quarterback than the real one, I'd believe you.
Jones was run out of New York midseason last year after the Giants went 2-8 with him as the starter. He threw eight touchdowns to seven interceptions and was sacked 29 times.
The Colts offensive line has kept Jones clean this season, and that's made a world of difference. Jones has been sacked on an NFL-low 2.7 percent of dropbacks, and that's allowed him to already throw as many touchdowns as he did in 2024 while posting a career-best completion percentage of 71.7 percent. The Colts are 5-1. Did Jones suddenly become an elite quarterback, or was he just not set up for success in New York?
Javonte Williams - Running Back - Dallas Cowboys
After averaging a career-low 30.2 rushing yards per game in 2024, Javonte Williams headed for what he hoped were greener pastures in Dallas. So far, they have been.
Aided by a Miles Sanders injury and an offense that can move the ball with ease, Williams has already set a new career-best mark in rushing scores with five, and his 26 first downs lead the entire NFL. He's also averaging the most rushing yards of his career.
Williams might have found the perfect NFL fit, reminiscent of Chase Brown last year in Cincinnati, where playing in a high-powered offense offers easy chances to run the ball. Despite his success, Williams only ranks 26th at the running back position in average defenders in the box because defenses can't afford to key in on him.
George Pickens - Wide Receiver - Dallas Cowboys
George Pickens is in a slightly different situation than the last three guys. No one really thought he was a bad player. It was just concerns about his attitude that led to his jettison from Pittsburgh.
But Pickens has found what looks like a lasting home in Dallas, where he gives quarterback Dak Prescott an elite WR2 beside CeeDee Lamb. And with Lamb missing some time this season, Pickens has stepped up into the role of No. 1 receiver without missing a beat. His six touchdown receptions lead the NFL, and his 87.5 receiving yards per game put him on track to shatter his previous career high.
Like Williams, Pickens is the beneficiary of playing on a really good offense that has to push the ball each and every play to make up for the team's defensive woes. With no easy fix for the Cowboys defense on the horizon, Pickens should continue to play well.
Josh Sweat - EDGE - Arizona Cardinals
Defenders deserve some love too!
After seven seasons in Philadelphia, edge rusher Josh Sweat signed with the Cardinals in free agency. He's already over halfway to last year's sack total, with Sweat getting to the quarterback five times in Arizona's first six games.
Sweat is doing that despite the Cardinals limiting his snaps to keep him fresh. So far, he's played 53 percent of his team's snaps, which would be his lowest mark since 2020. Arizona seems to know what it's doing with Sweat's snaps, though, as he's been an absolute menace when he's been out on the football field.