The NFL’s three-day legal tampering window eliminated some of the suspense from the first day of the new league year on Tuesday, but that didn’t mean Day 1 of the NFL calendar year was completely devoid of surprises.

One of the biggest ones came in the AFC East, where a key member of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots bolted to go back where it all began with a division rival.

Less than 24 hours after the Patriots declined their $20 million option on Darrelle Revis for the 2015 season, Revis signed to return to the team that drafted him, the New York Jets, on a five-year deal reportedly worth $70 million, with $39 million of that guaranteed. It’s a coup for new Jets GM Mike Maccagnan and defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles, as they simultaneously weaken a rival and strengthen their secondary in one fell swoop.

It’s also a big move for Revis, who never wanted to leave New York in the first place. But the start corner didn’t have much say in the matter when he went through a messy divorce with the only franchise he ever knew. In April of 2013, the Jets traded Revis to Tampa Bay for first and fourth round picks in the 2013 draft. After one year with the Bucs, Revis Island relocated to New England, where he helped the Patriots climb back to the pinnacle of the NFL and win Super Bowl XLIX. Now he gets to return to New York for a second tour with the Jets, on the contract he desired.

I want to thank the Pats and Pats Nation for an unbelievable year. NEW YORK I’m coming home. #revisisland #jetnation pic.twitter.com/KQE3Yc1orz

— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) March 11, 2015

Revis’ return to New York was one of many big moves on the opening day of free agency. The Jets continued to strengthen their secondary, a glaring weakness a year ago, by signing Buster Skrine away from the Cleveland Browns on a four-year deal. 

The other team that occupies Metlife Stadium was busy on Tuesday as well. The Giants also grabbed a key player from the reigning Super Bowl Champions, signing former Patriots running back Shane Vereen to a four-year deal. Vereen played an important role for the Pats in 2014, as a change of pace back with the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He finished the regular season with a career-high 52 receptions and had 11 more catches in New England’s Super Bowl XLIX win over Seattle.

Vereen is expected to occupy a similar role with the Giants behind Rashad Jennings and Andre Williams in the running back rotation. His arrival gives quarterback Eli Manning another great weapon in the passing game, as the offense enters its second season under coordinator Ben McAdoo. New York also strengthened their depth elsewhere on their roster by nabbing linebacker Jonathan Casillas, linebacker J.T. Thomas, right tackle Marshall Newhouse and wide receiver/return man Dwayne Harris.

Over in the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team with the most cap space entering the offseason, were one of the league’s busiest teams as expected, and signed six players. Their first day haul was led by former Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas, who the Jaguars gave a five-year, $46 million deal, to be Blake Bortles’ top target in the passing game. Thomas, who is coming off consecutive 12-touchdown seasons in Denver, is an immediate and immense upgrade to the Jags offense. That offense will also be upgraded by the signing of former Cowboys right tackle Jermey Parnell.

On the defensive side, Jacksonville filled needs all over. They bolstered their secondary by adding former Packers cornerback Davon House and former Colts safety Sergio Brown, and they added to their front seven with former Dolphins defensive end Jared Odrick and former 49ers linebacker Dan Skuta.  

Jacksonville’s AFC South rivals were also very active. The Indianapolis Colts addressed the glaring hole in their ground game by signing one of the league’s Top 20 all-time leading rushers, Frank Gore, to a three-year, $12 million deal. The Colts also added to their defense with former Eagles linebacker Trent Cole and former Rams defensive lineman Kendall Langford.

Other notable signings included the Oakland Raiders adding Super Bowl XLVIII MVP linebacker Malcolm Smith from the Seahawks, former Redskins running back Roy Helu and former Chiefs center Rodney Hudson. Across the bay, the San Francisco 49ers signed former Ravens receiver Torrey Smith to a five-year, $40 million deal with $22 million in guaranteed money. Elsewhere in the NFC West, the Arizona Cardinals addressed the hole created by the departure of Darnell Dockett to San Francisco by signing former Steelers linebacker Lamarr Woodley to a one-year deal.

The Broncos filled the need created by the departure of Thomas by signing former Ravens tight end Owen Daniels to a three-year deal. The Chargers finalized a five-year deal with offensive lineman Orlando Franklin. The Redskins beefed up their defensive line with the addition of Stephen Paea. The Philadelphia Eagles also finalized their six-year deal with former Seattle cornerback Byron Maxwell and the Seahawks quickly addressed the hole in their secondary by signing former Eagles corner Cary Williams. The Bengals added depth to their linebacking corps with the signing of former Packer A.J. Hawk and the Cleveland Browns signed receiver Brian Hartline.

TRADES RULE THE DAY

While there were plenty of signings to go around on the first day of the new league year, the biggest news of the day was the high volume of rare player-for-player trades across the league. 

The biggest of those involved a pair of NFC rivals as the New Orleans Saints shipped tight end Jimmy Graham to the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks in exchange for center Max Unger and Seattle’s first round pick in this year’s draft, No. 31 overall. The Seahawks also receive a 2015 fourth round pick in the deal. 

The trade is a blockbuster acquisition for Seattle, addressing what was perhaps the team’s biggest need, a superstar target for quarterback Russell Wilson.

“The opportunity to get a player that can make these kinds of plays that we’ve seen Jimmy Graham do for a number of years really got us excited in complementing the rest of our team,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s just a fantastic talent and a great weapon for us. We’re always going to be running the football, but we need those targets and he brings us an obvious opportunity to get the ball in the end zone. This is a fantastic job that [Seattle GM John Schneider] has done to get this done. It’s so rare that you get opportunities to get this kind of a player.”

For the Saints, who had just inked Graham to a four-year, $40 million deal last offseason, the trade signals an intent to continue unloading some of the team’s large financial commitments and perhaps begin the rebuilding process after a disappointing 7-9 finish last season. Still, it was a jolt to New Orleans, as quarterback Drew Brees told NFL Network’s Alex Flanagan on Tuesday.

“I’m as shocked as everyone else,” Brees said. “I love the guy.”

The league’s other blockbuster trade on Tuesday was the quarterback-for-quarterback swap between the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams sent former number one overall pick Sam Bradford to Philadelphia, along with a fifth rounder in 2015, in exchange for Nick Foles, a fourth round pick in this year’s draft and a second rounder in next year’s draft. 

The trade makes a great deal of sense for St. Louis, as they move on from the oft-injured Bradford, who hasn’t taken a regular season snap since October of 2013 due to two separate ACL injuries. The Rams invested a record-breaking six-year, $78 million contract in Bradford after selecting him first overall in the 2010 draft, the year before the rookie cap was implemented, and the trade allows them to get out from under it before the final year of the deal, which holds a $13 million cap hit. 

St. Louis also acquires a talented signal-caller in Foles who, although he regressed some from his breakout 2013 season, was having a solid 2014 campaign before suffering a shoulder injury that cost him the rest of the season.

“I’m extremely excited about adding Nick to our team,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement. “Nick is a talented young quarterback and will be a great addition to our offense. I look forward to getting him here as we prepare to start our offseason program.”

The move is a little more puzzling from Philadelphia’s perspective and leaves lingering questions that it could be yet another precursor to a move up in the draft to reunite coach Chip Kelly with Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota.

There are, however, several reasons to believe Bradford is in Philadelphia to stay. The move reunites Bradford with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who ran the Rams offense during Bradford’s rookie year. That season, Bradford completed 60 percent of his passes for over 3,500 yards and 18 touchdowns, and was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. Bradford is also familiar with the up-tempo, no-huddle spread offense that Kelly has cultivated in Philadelphia, having played in a similar scheme during his time at the University of Oklahoma. 

Philadelphia’s other major trade, the swap of running back LeSean McCoy for linebacker Kiko Alonso with the Buffalo Bills, was also made official on Tuesday, as was the Jets’ acquisition of Brandon Marshall from the Chicago Bears for a fifth round pick. The Detroit Lions executed a similar trade to the Marshall deal with the Baltimore Ravens, acquiring defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and a 2015 seventh round pick for Detroit’s fourth and fifth round picks in 2015. The move fills the need created by the impending departure of Ndamukong Suh from Detroit to Miami. 

In addition to their trade for Foles, the Rams acquired a backup for him, when they sent a 2016 seventh round pick to Houston for quarterback Case Keenum. Buffalo’s trade with Minnesota, to acquire for Matt Cassel for draft picks, also went through on Tuesday.

ABRUPT DEPARTURES

While Tuesday was a day of fresh starts for several players around the league, a few players brought an abrupt end to their careers by announcing their retirement. 

The most shocking occurred late Tuesday night when former Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds announced his retirement at 27 years of age, after just five seasons in the league. Worilds was a coveted free agent, coming off back-to-back outstanding seasons for the Steelers. He tallied eight sacks, two forced fumbles and 63 tackles in 2013 and came back with 7.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and 62 tackles while starting all 16 games for Pittsburgh in 2014.

Interest was plentiful in the 27-year-old linebacker as he hit the open market, but after his agents released a statement announcing his retirement Tuesday evening, Worilds sent out series of tweets indicating he was at peace with his decision. 

I appreciate all of the interest from the organizations that have reached out to us the past few days.

— Jason Worilds (@WorildsGreatest) March 11, 2015 

With that being said, after much thought & consideration I have chosen to step away from football as I have opted to pursue other interests.

— Jason Worilds (@WorildsGreatest) March 11, 2015

I am especially grateful of the opportunity to play before some of the greatest fans in football today.

— Jason Worilds (@WorildsGreatest) March 11, 2015

Despite any concern and speculation that may ensue, I appreciate those that are respectful of my decision.

— Jason Worilds (@WorildsGreatest) March 11, 2015

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis also announced his retirement on Tuesday, a decision that had been rumored since early Monday. Willis, who is just 30 years old, met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his choice. 

The eight-year veteran explained that the things he put himself through physically to compete at the highest level had taken a toll on his body. He decided after dealing with foot and toe ailments for most of the 2014 season that it was time to move on, on his own terms, rather than waiting for Father Time to force him away from the game.

“As I stand up here today, it’s tough, it’s hard, but it’s also easy at the same time,” he said. “I knew there would be a day I’d leave, and I always told myself that I wanted it to be on my terms. So here I am today standing before you guys, not as a perfect man, but as an honest man. I have no regrets.” 

Willis was drafted 11th overall by the 49ers in 2007 and was an instant starter and impact player on their defense. He was named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2007 and went to his first of seven consecutive Pro Bowls that season, a streak that only ended with his injury-plagued 2014 campaign. Willis, who should be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame in Canton some day, was also a five-time First Team All-Pro selection and compiled 950 tackles, 20.5 sacks, eight interceptions, 16 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries over 112 games in eight seasons.

Tuesday’s other major retirement announcement came from former Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker, who decided to leave the game at age 26, after just four seasons in the league. 

Like Worilds, Locker was a free agent and had received some interest on the open market. But as he sorted through his suitors, Locker found that his passion for playing the game was lacking. 

“Football has always played a pivotal role in my life and I love the game, but I no longer have the burning desire necessary to play the game for a living,” Locker said in a statement. “To continue to do so would be unfair to the next organization with whom I would eventually sign.”

Locker struggled to adapt to the NFL game after the Titans selected him eighth overall in the 2011 draft. Over four seasons, he started 23 games and played in 30 for Tennessee, but never realized his potential as the second quarterback taken in the 2011 draft out of the University of Washington. 

He was enjoying his best season in 2013, completing 60 percent of his passes over seven starts with 1,256 yards and eight touchdown passes against just four interceptions. But, as it often did for Locker, the injury bug bit at an inopportune time and a foot injury in November cost him the rest of the season. He came back in 2014 and played in seven games, including five starts, but was much less effective and came up short in multiple opportunities to claim the starting job.

Locker was likely ticketed for a backup role with some team in 2015, but instead made the decision to move on with his life.

“I am retiring from football after much reflection and discussion with my family. I will always be grateful for having had the opportunity to realize my childhood dream of playing in the NFL and for the lifelong relationships I developed because of that experience,” he said. “I realize this decision is surprising to many, but I know in my heart that it is the right decision and I look forward to spending more time with my family and pursuing other interests.”