NFC East News: Summer Storylines and Training Camp Dates Heat Up

Information around the NFC East is always fast-moving this time of year, and the past week has not disappointed. Throughout the year, we’ll use this space to track what is happening around the best division in NFL history, the NFC East.

That said, let’s take a look at what has been going on around the division over the last week.

Around the NFC East

Dallas Cowboys: Physicality Mandates and High-Stakes Training Camp Battles
New York Giants: Retooling the Front Seven and Sorting the Offensive Core
Philadelphia Eagles: Roster Accountability, Trenches Health, and Emerging Alphas
Washington Commanders: Roster Refinement, Safety Questions, and Future Capital Planning

Dallas Cowboys: Physicality Mandates and High-Stakes Training Camp Battles

10 more Sundays ‘til these ‘Boys make their debut ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/xMafbAUQPS
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) July 5, 2026

4 Dallas Cowboys Now on the Chopping Block Entering Training Camp

Training camp for the Dallas Cowboys will take place in Oxnard, California, with both veterans and rookies set to arrive on July 28. Practices will begin the next day and will run through August 18.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said he has plans for a more physical camp as the Cowboys look to improve upon their 7-9-1 mark in 2025. In addition to setting a more physical tone, Coach Schotty wants more competition throughout the roster.

Role Call: How Cobie Durant will impact the secondary

A fourth-round pick of the Rams in 2022, Durant made an immediate impact for LA's defense, even scoring on an 85-yard pick-6 touchdown as a rookie. Durant's ability to play the slot helped him get on the field early in sub-packages, as he started just 10 games total his first two years. But in the last two, Durant started 29 combined games, proving to be an impact player for the Rams, especially in the biggest moments.

In last year's playoffs, Durant had three interceptions for the Rams, including two in the NFC Divisional Playoff win over the Bears in Chicago. However, in the offseason, the Rams decided to invest their resources into other free agents in the offseason, signing Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. So that left Durant looking for other options, and he signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Cowboys in March.

Dallas Cowboys' Most Promising Player is Crucial for Defensive Revival in 2026

"Ezeiruaku, a 2025 second-round pick out of Boston College, only recorded two sacks as a rookie. However, he also logged nine tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, and 26 quarterback pressures," Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox wrote.

While we would probably rank Caleb Downs as the Cowboys' most promising player, an argument can definitely be made for Ezeiruaku.

Projecting 4 more breakout candidates for 2026

Eternally, it seems that the Dallas Cowboys have high expectations year in and year out. While Cowboys fans fight the stigma that next year is always “our year”, the Cowboys do field a pretty good team and have for the last few years, so the expectations to compete are fairly warranted.

The offense is loaded with weapons, and the defense should expect to improve with some stark changes. Looking around the NFC East, the Eagles traded away one of their premier receivers, the Washington Commanders are somewhat enigmatic, and the New York Giants are still developing under sophomore quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Cowboys' first-round pick Malachi Lawrence already has what coaches crave

"I'm kind of used to being in the shadows," Lawrence told the Dallas media. "It doesn't faze me. Once the time comes, people will see the work that you put in…"

"Kind of building up into the combine, I knew I was going to kill the combine. It was just funny hearing all the mocks and stuff like that. But yea, being in the shadows and then rising to the top, kind of used to that."

New York Giants: Retooling the Front Seven and Sorting the Offensive Core

Ready to protect 🫡 pic.twitter.com/E8UmFEeiRc
— New York Giants (@Giants) July 2, 2026

How Arvell Reese Fits Into the Giants' Retooled Defensive Front

Reese dominated college football in 2025 as part of the best linebacker duo in the country with teammate-turned-rival Sonny Styles, who was drafted by the Washington Commanders. As a junior, Reese finished with 69 total tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, and two pass defenses en route to being named an All-American. 2025 was the first year of his career in which Reese was properly used as a multi-tool weapon, after playing almost exclusively as an off-ball linebacker in 2024.

Of his 651 defensive snaps played last season, Reese played 322 from an off-ball alignment and 327 lined up on the edge.

NFC East Grades: Where do the Giants stack up at wide receiver?

The trade of AJ Brown dropped the overall division and left Dallas with the clear-cut best combo. Nabers’ injury may slow him down in 2025, but he’s in the conversation for being the best receiver in the division, although Lamb has earned that distinction. The Giants and Eagles could be flipped, but I agree with the science on the one- and four-point recipients, which brings our total through the defense, wide receivers, and tight ends to what you see below:

The New York Giants have a talented core worth building a contender around

New York Giants fans have certainly had their share of amusement lately, from ESPN's bold take about Cam Skattebo to the ongoing Brian Daboll redemption tour. Credit to NFL Media’s Chad Reuter, who finds himself in rare territory by using context when evaluating Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.

Reuter, a prominent NFL Draft analyst, released a seven-round, 32-team draft of players he’d want while assembling a win-now team. In other words, Reuter wasn’t ranking the NFL’s top 224 players, but he was using their expected 2026 performance to build a Super Bowl contender.

New York Giants mailbag: Cornerbacks, Eli Manning, Joe Schoen, more

Jay B asks: Eli Manning is one of my favorite Giants of all time after Taylor and oddly enough Brandon Jacobs. I simply cannot understand why he gets so much hate and is not a Hall Famer Yet? What gives Ed? I understand the record and playoff appearances but I watched Eli’s entire career and if you look up and down the rosters he played with compared to to some of the other elite QBs of his time he had by far one of the least amount of talent around him than other QBs that had multiple pro bowl level players. Eli didn’t even play with a Pro Bowl WR until late his career. He routinely had bad OLines. Why does Eli get all the blame for poor GMing? He didn’t play in dome for half his games or in San Diego. Why doesn’t he get credit for these feats?

Ed says: Jay, you and I feel the same way about Eli Manning. However, most Hall of Fame voters didn’t watch his career the way you and I did and don’t care about the nuance. They care about the .500 record. They care about the lack of Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. They care about all the losing seasons. They care about his high interception total. They don’t care about who he was throwing to. They don’t care that the back half of his career was on Jerry Reese and ownership, not him. They don’t, as I do, believe those two Super Bowl runs that culminated in victories over the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick New England Patriots should outweigh the regular seasons.

New York Giants announce 2026 open training camp dates

The New York Giants announced open practice dates for their 2026 Training Camp, presented by Ford. This year's camp will be held at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. and will feature 6 practices free and open to the public. The first open practice will be held on Thursday, July 30.

Giants Training Camp, presented by Ford, is a family-friendly event and will include current player autographs for kids 12 and under after practice, a Jr. Giants Kids Zone presented by Ford, and Giants merchandise sales.

Admission to practice is free, and tickets are not required to attend.

Philadelphia Eagles: Roster Accountability, Trenches Health, and Emerging Alphas

Fly like an eagle🦅 pic.twitter.com/Y8kOlZKRMu
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 4, 2026

Roob's Eagles Observations: Bryce Huff's hilariously misguided memory of 2024

BRYCE HUFF IS FULL OF IT: Did you see Bryce Huff’s comments about his failed 2024 season with the Eagles? In an interview on Caps Off Podcast, Huff blamed his horrible performance on Eagles fans, who he claimed were already giving him a hard time the first week of training camp: “First week of camp, for the fans especially. Like, they take pride in going after people.” The reality is that Eagles fans were initially excited about the addition of Huff, who had 10 sacks a year earlier with the Jets. Nobody was on his case a week into training camp. It wasn’t until the season started and there was zero production, even though he was playing 30 snaps per game, that everybody got frustrated with Huff. And not just fans but his coaches as well. But that shouldn’t even matter. If you’re making $17 million a year, you better be able to handle a little fair criticism when you’re not producing. All Philly fans want is effort, and Huff refused to give them that. Huff also said he lost respect for the Eagles when he was inactive for the Super Bowl. OK, Bryce, tell us who you should have replaced? Josh Sweat, Jalyx Hunt, Brandon Graham, or Nolan Smith? Blaming everyone but yourself is a really bad look. Dude couldn’t play. Take some accountability. His ineptitude was nobody's fault but his own.

Eagles Rookie Review: Jihaad Campbell’s areas for improvement

Jihaad Campbell was my number one linebacker in the 2025 NFL Draft (as he was for nearly everyone), so it’s safe to say I loved this pick at the time. I didn’t think there was any chance the Eagles would have the opportunity to draft him. The film looked like that of a top-15 player, and I assumed the only reason he would slide was that teams were worried about his shoulder injury. A year later, I haven’t changed my opinion despite an up-and-down rookie season.

Campbell’s rookie season wasn’t perfect. There were the expected growing pains, a mid-season benching, and plenty of moments where his lack of experience at linebacker showed. But there were also stretches when he looked exactly like the player I hoped he would become. The athleticism translated immediately, the coverage ability was outstanding, and every now and then you saw flashes of a player who should eventually become one of the very best linebackers in football.

Things to watch for at Eagles training camp: Interior offensive line edition

• Both Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens participated in voluntary OTAs as well as mandatory minicamp, not just in individual drills, but also in 11-on-11s. Their mere presence throughout the spring is an encouraging step forward.

After playing through a back injury during the Eagles' Super Bowl run in 2024, Jurgens had a procedure last February to alleviate nerve pain. He missed most of training camp, and acknowledged during the regular season that he wasn't fully recovered from that procedure. It showed on the field, as Jurgens did not play to his standard, despite being voted into the Pro Bowl.

Dickerson battled through an assortment of injuries in 2025, some known, like an August meniscus injury that required "a minor procedure," and some that he kept to himself. Dickerson has only played five NFL seasons, and he is still only 27 years old, but there were questions about whether he would retire this offseason, as his body has accumulated a lot of wear and tear. He took a pay cut this offseason, and a year was lopped off of his contract, which now runs through the 2027 season.

This winter, Jurgens and Dickerson each went to Colombia to get stem cell treatments. It's alarming that their bodies felt badly enough that they deemed that necessary. To be determined if it will help them play better on the field.

4 emerging Eagles already flashing alpha traits before training camp

OTAs were a good experience for the Philadelphia Eagles in some aspects, with the new players showcasing their skills alongside the team's veterans.

The Eagles are going through a bit of a slow transition on the roster as they try to get younger on offense this offseason, similar to their approach on defense over the last three to four seasons. So far, it appears to be in good shape, as Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has found some great players who are ready to make an immediate impact in 2026.

Some of those new and young players might be making their presence known more than others. Here are four emerging players heading into training camp, already proving they are the alphas on their team.

How Safety Instantly Improves For Eagles With Cooper DeJean No Longer At Outside CB

Cooper DeJean isn't going to be playing outside cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles this season, per Vic Fangio. The Eagles don't need DeJean to play on the outside this year, not with Tariq Woolen on a one-year deal and Jonathan Jones in the fold. Philadelphia has a CB2 to line up opposite of Quinyon Mitchell, and are set there.

Washington Commanders: Roster Refinement, Safety Questions, and Future Capital Planning

Celebrating 250 years 🇺🇸 #America250 pic.twitter.com/KNXkO1cU7J
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 4, 2026

Commanders Fixed the Defense, But Training Camp Will Decide If It Fits

Sacks were not really a problem for the Washington Commanders last season, at least not in the traditional sense, as the team had 42 sacks, good enough for 14th in the league and tied with two other teams. The thing is, that is where the numbers are a bit misleading. There were games where the defense hit home, but there were also stretches where the push rush had no answers.

ESPN’s Commanders Offseason Grade Has One Major Problem — And It Isn’t the Grade

The Washington Commanders getting a C+ from ESPN in its annual 2026 NFL offseason grades is not the part that should bother anyone all that much.

That is not to say that all fans will agree with it. It also does not mean the team had a bad offseason. The Commanders were active this offseason, especially on defense, where Odafe Oweh, Nick Cross, Amik Robertson, Leo Chenal, K’Lavon Chaisson, and first-round pick Sonny Styles gave the unit an instant facelift after last season’s struggles.

Quan Martin Is Running Out of Time to Answer Commanders’ Biggest Safety Question

Quan Martin is not one of those Washington Commanders players fighting just to be noticed when training camp opens. That would make this conversation much easier. The harder question is whether the Commanders have already waited long enough to know what they have in him.

That does not mean Martin is out of chances. It also does not mean Washington has already made some final decision about the safety room before camp begins. This is not the time of year to treat any unofficial depth chart as gospel, because the real sorting does not happen on a website in the summer. It happens when the pads come on, the defense starts communicating at full speed, and the coaching staff gets a clearer picture of who can actually be trusted.

Contract Year Countdown: Can Will Harris Keep His Place in Washington?

Safety Will Harris is not heading into the 2026 season with the same type of contract-year pressure that some of his fellow Washington Commanders teammates face, but that does not make his situation any less important.

For Harris, this is less about money and more about proving he still belongs in the Commanders' defensive plans. Last year, he played in nine total games after fracturing his fibula in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Commanders Confirm PSL Planning for New Stadium, Raising Next Big Fan Cost Question

For season-ticket holders, the answer could be quite a bit. Martin Austermuhle, a D.C. reporter with NOTUS, pointed a spotlight on that reality Friday by highlighting specific language in a Stadium Seat Rights Funding Agreement between Events DC and DC Football Stadium LLC. The agreement included a not-to-exceed amount of $975 million for the sale of stadium seat rights, with the proceeds to be directed toward construction costs for the new Commanders stadium.

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Around the NFC East is a collection of news articles from the four teams over the last week. | HTTR4LIFE LLC

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