Evaluating the NFC East After Day One of Free Agency

How did the rest of the NFC East division stack up after one full day of the league’s negotiating window?

Jan 8, 2012; East Rutherford, NY, USA; General view of the New York Giants helmet of cornerback Corey Webster (not pictured) during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons at MetLife Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The first day of the NFL’s annual free agency negotiating window is in the books and while many on this site at least were interested in what the NEw York Giants were up to, the rest of the league was also busy.

Being that the Giants are trying to close the gap with their NFC East opponents, let’s check in on what Dallas, Washington, and Philadelphia were up to while the Giants were busy making moves. 

Dallas Cowboys

Jan 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams (33) runs the ball in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Of the four teams in the division, the Dallas Cowboys were strangely quiet when the opening bell rang.

Despite holding the league’s ninth-highest cap space at the start of the day, the Cowboys were mum on dishing out many new contracts to in-house or external candidates. 

In fact, this trend continued from the 2024 offseason, when they spent the lowest amount of any team in the free agency period with aspirations of contending. 

Dallas even went to the lengths of restructuring star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s contract, a move that would generate an extra $20 million in funds to distribute to new players. 

They most used that money on rising defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who earned a four-year, $80 million deal after notching four sacks and 19 quarterback hits that ranked second.

After securing their budding defensive piece, who avoided the franchise tag at a heftier cap hit, the Cowboys acted as if they didn’t need to do much to stay with the elite offenses in their division. 

Their only notable moves were to resign long snapper Trent Sieg and partner with former Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams on a one-year contract.

Williams received roughly $3 million in the agreement in response to Rico Dowdle entering the open market after he led the Cowboys in rushing last season with 1,079 yards and two touchdowns. 

Dallas hasn’t been one to pay running backs big money, as was seen when they lost Tony Pollard last offseason before signing with the Tennessee Titans. 

Williams could slide right into that starting role for an unimpressive backfield for the Cowboys. He held a starting role in Denver during the 2021 season when he amassed 903 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games. He got to 139 carries for 513 yards and four scores this season.

Washington Commanders

Dec 15, 2024; Houston Texans offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (78) runs onto the field before the game against the Miami Dolphins at NRG Stadium. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders went to lengths nobody had expected in 2024 for a team that went 4-13 the year before and was coming in with a rookie gunslinger in Jayden Daniels. 

As it turned out, they might have found their franchise passer of the future and are now emboldened to stack as much talent around him to get to the pinnacle of the NFL.

They came within one game of reaching that goal this past fall, coming short at the hands of their rival Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game before moving on to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX two weeks later. 

It was a position that they shouldn’t have been a year removed from being in the bottom third of the league on both sides of the ball, but a new culture and weapons showed how much can be turned around.

Now, the Commanders entered free agency with the 14th highest cap space, just a few million dollars shy of the Giants' around $45 million in funds. They wasted no time, spending some of it acquiring more transformational talent. 

Washington started the spending spree by retaining two valuable veteran pieces: inside linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz. The former signed a one-year deal worth about $9.5 million with $8 million guaranteed, and his offensive teammate signed a one-year deal for $6.25 million with a maximum value of $9 million. 

Both players were critical to Washington's success last season en route to their deep postseason run. Wagner, who came over from two stints with the Seahawks and one with the Rams, was the defense’s Ironman with 132 total tackles—the 13th straight season he notched that feat—two sacks and one forced fumble that landed him on the All-Pro Second Team and the Pro Bowl. 

Ertz, whom Giants fans have been familiar with from his initial days with the Philadelphia Eagles and who ranks sixth in all-time receptions for tight ends, saw a career resurgence on the other side of the division after two injury-shortened campaigns out west with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022 and 2023. 

He finished with 66 catches for 654 yards and seven touchdowns that trailed only wide receiver Terry McLaurin’s 1,096 yards and 13 scores in a full 17-game slate. Ertz was instrumental in making a few big plays to help the Commanders lock up some wins in the playoffs and even tallied a season-high 11 catches for 104 yards in the conference championship loss to his initial NFL squad in the Eagles. 

Nothing topped Washington's moves more than their momentous trade with the Houston Texans for offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders received the five-time Pro Bowler and a fourth-round pick in exchange for four draft picks: a third and seventh in this year’s draft and a second and fourth-round selection in the 2026 draft. 

Acquiring Tunsil, who finished 10th among offensive tackles in pass block win rate, was designed to strengthen further the protection for Daniels, who often worked his dual-threat magic behind a stellar front. The Commanders’ unit finished ninth in team win rate at 66% of the snaps, and adding Tunsil’s fortuitous blocking will only improve that number if they stay healthy. 

It also allows Washington to shift Brandon Coleman over to the right side, where he can help at either the guard or tackle spot, which could use depth. Tunsil should also help the run-blocking effort, as the Commanders were already among the top five in that category in 2024. 

On the other end, though, Washington was unable to retain a couple of impactful pieces from last offseason and beyond. After eight years with the franchise, they released veteran defensive tackle Johnathan Allen and lost wide receiver Dyami Brown to the Jaguars and safety Jeremy Chinn to the Raiders. They did add Javon Kinlaw from the Jets to help with the defensive loss up front.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun (53) before kick off against the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Coming off their impressive rout of the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, the Philadelphia Eagles knew it would be hard to retain all of the talent on their roster for what could be a feasible title defense in the 2025 season.

That reminder was very present on the first day of free agency as the Eagles lost four members of their title team to outside suitors looking to mimic what they did. The bills were coming due for the birds, who entered this week with the 10th lowest cap space in the NFL and chose wisely where to spend it on their biggest producers. 

One of them was running back Saquon Barkley, who, as Giants fans are painfully aware, just signed a three-year deal in free agency last offseason. 

He moved to Philadelphia and had the season of his life for the NFC East rivals, rushing 2,005 yards for 13 touchdowns and an average of 125.3 yards per game while coming just short of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. 

The Eagles decided they had seen enough from Barkley to extend him further, handing him a two-year extension worth $41.2 million and an AAV of $20.6 million, making him the league's highest-paid ball carrier. So long as health remains in 2025, the sky’s the limit for the former Giants, whom general manager Joe Schoen infamously discarded last spring.

On the defensive end, the Eagles would not let inside linebacker Zack Baun leave the building either. The 28-year-old signed a three-year extension worth $51 million with $34 million guaranteed and $1.5 million in escalators and incentives after a historic season leading the team’s defensive production. 

Baun, a former third-round pick of the Saints, tallied 151 total tackles (93 solo) with 3.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, and four pass deflections. 

A few of those turnovers came in the postseason, buoying the Eagles to the Super Bowl, where he also picked off Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to help build a massive early lead over the opponent. 

With the move, the Eagles will retain their newfound stalwart in the defense's interior and at a decent price for his production. Baun finished second in the linebacker position with a 90.1 PFF grade while posting a 79.7% opponent reception rating but only allowed 354 yards and one touchdown in that same span. He was also a good run-stopper with 69 stops and a 9.8% missed tackle rate. 

Despite keeping their two big names, the Eagles’ roster casualties included defensive tackle Milton Williams (Patriots), edge rusher Josh Sweat (Cardinals), linebacker Oren Burks (Bengals) and cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (Vikings). 

Three of those players were in the team’s top 10 defensive producers last season, signaling a slightly new construction for the 2025 season that rival teams could take advantage of in the NFC East race. 

Still, it’s hard to argue the Eagles have lost ground as the powerhouse of the division as they prepare to run it back to the Super Bowl. The Giants have a lot of work on their hands to sniff that same precipice they haven’t in over a decade.

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Complete Giants Free Agency Coverage

• Giants Re-Sign Tight End Chris Manhertz for Another Year
• Giants Re-Sign Punter Jamie Gillan to 3-Year Deal
• Giants Re-sign OLB Tomon Fox
  
• Giants Re-sign Long Snapper Casey Kreiter
• Giants Re-sign QB Tommy DeVito
• Report: Giants Agree to Terms with ex-Saints Cornerback Paulson Adebo
• Giants Boost D-Line Depth by Adding Roy Robertson-Harris
  
• Surprise! Giants Re-sign Receiver Darius Slayton
  
• Giants Add Special Teams Dynamo Chris Board
  
• Giants CB Paulson Adebo: The Good, The Great, and The Ugly
  
• What New York Giants Are Getting in IDL Roy Robertson-Harris

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