Offseason roster shuffling, especially when a player leaves a team for a division rival, can get people heated -- to the point where, say, a former franchise great will proclaim an active star “dead” to him. I'll address that in a moment. Such relocations, though, are not uncommon.
Running back David Montgomery did it last year, leaving Chicago for Detroit in free agency. And speaking of the NFC North, Packers icon Brett Favre spent his final two NFL seasons with the Vikings -- enhancing the acrimony between two heated rivals who find themselves back in the same kind of spotlight in this very piece.
We don't yet know exactly what the 2024 NFL schedule will look like, but we do know each team's slate of opponents. Which means we can zero in on opportunities for bad blood to be spilled. So, here are 12 of my favorite REVENGE matchups on the '24 campaign's docket, in no particular order.
Let’s start off with a banger -- just like they do at WrestleMania, which is taking place in Philadelphia this year. Now, it was former Giants running back Tiki Barber who (jokingly?) said Saquon Barkley was dead to him after the star RB signed a big-money deal with the rival Eagles. I get it. There is no love lost between Giants and Eagles fans. It’s one of the most bitter rivalries in the NFL. But I actually think this was kind of a great move, and one that Giants fans shouldn’t be too upset about. Saquon played some fine football during his six seasons in New York, earning a healthy payday with a team that is still in its Super Bowl window (we hope, anyway).
The Giants are in a spot where devoting big money to a running back isn't the move. The Eagles, on the other hand, probably shouldn’t let their quarterback run for 15 touchdowns, so for them, this signing made a lot of sense. I understand that it’s disturbing for some to think of Saquon in an Eagles uniform, and that Giants fans will be upset when he has a Christian McCaffrey-like impact with their division rival. But dude is from Allentown, Pennsylvania, (fine, Whitehall Township) and should be allowed to go home. Plus, folks should blame the team that didn’t want to pay Saquon before getting mad at the player himself.
It'll be the main event: a championship rematch from last season. It would be cool if the 49ers could have the Chiefs put the Lombardi Trophy on the line in this rematch, but they will just have to settle for a regular-season victory for now. We recently had WWE Superstar Bayley on NFL Total Access, and I asked her if the Chiefs, who've won three titles in five seasons, have come full circle to become the heels (bad guys) of the NFL. I think she agreed. But given that San Francisco has lost two Super Bowls to Kansas City in that span, it’s clear this is very personal for 49ers faithful.
It feels a little weird to think new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn would want revenge on the Cowboys, although there might be some fans still upset with the way Dallas went out against Green Bay on Super Wild Card Weekend. (I called that, btw.) It got a little interesting during free agency when the Commanders signed former Dallas pass rusher Dorance Armstrong, who can help take the place of Chase Young and Montez Sweat following their departures via trade last season. I’m not saying Armstrong is in the same tier as Sweat or Young, but he’s not too far behind. Armstrong logged the second-most sacks on the Cowboys over the past three seasons (behind only Micah Parsons), including 7.5 sacks in 2023. He’s been a force under Quinn and will be the key to Washington's defensive line.
By the time Week 18 came around last season, the Titans were an 11-loss team whose bright young quarterback (Will Levis) was sidelined by injury. Yet they still beat Jacksonville, putting the final touches on the Jaguars' stunning 2023 collapse, keeping them out of the playoffs. How rude. Interestingly, one of the bright spots for the Jags that day was Calvin Ridley's six-catch, 106-yard outing -- except, of course, for what wound up being his last target with the team, a dropped ball that helped seal Jacksonville's fate. Ridley was expected by many to re-sign with the team this offseason -- until the Titans swooped in, making him part of their much-needed offensive reboot. (Tennessee's offense was kind of like one of those local saloons you see on Bar Rescue.) Ridley's decision to sign with Tennessee was kind of a stunner, but not too much of a stretch, considering he will be reunited with former Jags passing game coordinator Nick Holz, who took the offensive coordinator job under new Titans head coach Brian Callahan. So there will be plenty of storylines at play.
BONUS REVENGE: This season, the Titans are also hosting the Patriots, who were spurned by Ridley in part because, according to owner Robert Kraft, the idea of moving to the region wasn't very popular in the Ridley household.
Baltimore's had some playoff struggles during the Lamar Jackson era. Many thought the 2023 Ravens -- the AFC’s top seeds who notched a resounding Divisional Round win over the up-and-coming Texans -- were going to be the team to make the leap to the Super Bowl. Not me; I picked the Chiefs. But still, there has been some history between Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, with the wins going the way of the latter. The fact that Kansas City went on to win the Super Bowl makes last season’s home loss in the AFC Championship Game such a bitter pill to swallow. And while a win in the regular season won’t exactly mean true revenge, you know Baltimore has circled this showdown.
There is no way the NFL could send Russell Wilson to face his former team to open the season on Monday Night Football again ... right? That would be the funniest thing ever, and I sort of hope it happens. For one, it would give Russ another chance right out of the gate to defeat his former team at their place, something he wasn’t able to do against the Seahawks two years ago. Also, the schedule-makers might want to consider doing this matchup early in the season, because Justin Fields could end up being the Steelers’ starter at some point in 2024.
Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones are going to comprise a GREAT running back tandem for the Packers!
That's what I thought for about 10 minutes after hearing Green Bay was signing Jacobs. But the Packers released Jones, who quickly ended up signing with the Vikings. (The best part for Jones: He got to skip the one-season stopover with the Jets that Brett Favre had to make in his journey from Green Bay to Minnesota.)
I know there are no sacred players in Titletown. The Packers have let Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers go in recent years. (Heck, even Vince Lombardi finished his career with the Washington football team.) But in many ways, Jones was central to this team's identity during his time in Green Bay, and this feels like a move that the Packers might regret.
This is like the NFL's version of the wrestling rivalry between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. You get the sense the players -- while they might respect each other -- really don't like each other. And Patrick Queen's defection from Baltimore to Pittsburgh as a free agent should act as kind of a superkick in this series. It won't be surprising if there is a little extra emotional juice on both sides. Queen would undoubtedly like to prove he can stand on his own as a pro -- away from Roquan Smith -- after leaving the franchise that declined his fifth-year option. Baltimore has enjoyed more general success than Pittsburgh recently, but the Ravens have lost seven of their past eight games against the Steelers -- and while it's true that Lamar Jackson missed many of those, he hasn't beaten Pittsburgh since 2019.
Credit to the Lions last year. They were the most hyped upstart coming into the 2023 season, and they lived up to those expectations, winning their first division title in 30 years and advancing all the way to the NFC Championship Game. A lot of people feel like the Lions should have won that matchup in San Francisco, especially after a dominant first half. You know this game has tugged at the heart of Dan Campbell for the entire offseason. This fall, I expect the Lions to come charging out of the tunnel at Levi's Stadium like the Ultimate Warrior in SummerSlam 1988.
There is already some heat between these franchises. I mean, I love the pettiness of the Titans wearing Oilers throwback uniforms when the Texans were in town in Week 15 last season -- a game Houston won in overtime. It’s wild to think that probably like six percent of the Titans’ younger fans even know there was a team once called the Houston Oilers. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but kids, am I right?! The thing is, the Texans might be getting the last laugh -- at least in 2024 – with the signing of ex-Titans Azeez Al-Shaair and Denico Autry. What’s fun is Al-Shaair signed with Tennessee last offseason on a one-year deal after also being pursued by the Texans and head man DeMeco Ryans, who coached Al-Shaair in San Francisco. The Texans weren’t about to let the hard-hitting linebacker get away a second time.
This rivalry is always a low-key good one. Having Jordan Poyer jump from the Bills to the Dolphins should add a little extra spice. The veteran safety has had numerous stops in the NFL, but he really hit his stride with the Bills, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2021. The Dolphins had some key names leave this offseason, including DT Christian Wilkins (who went to the Raiders), but Poyer provides some stability on the back end of the defense.
This might not be the first game you think of when it comes to the Ravens’ 2024 opponents. But safety Geno Stone signing with the Bengals has to be one of the best moves in free agency -- or, at least, the best move nobody is talking about. The Bengals needed some help in the secondary after losing key pieces over the last few years, including Jessie Bates and Chidobe Awuzie. Stone, who just recorded seven INTs and nine passes defensed in a breakout 2023 season for Baltimore, is a young cornerstone for Cincy’s defense who came at a pretty affordable price (two years, $15 million).
