NFC East: Grading the team moves made in free agency

The NFC East has been quite busy during the first two weeks of NFL free agency, we’ve seen a flurry of players signing to join the division and leave the division, along with a few trades that caught everyone off guard. Each team still has holes to fill and as we head into the latter part of free agency the teams are turning their focus toward the draft. College pro days will be ending in about two weeks and teams are going to start working on their draft boards instead of bringing in more free agents.

With that being said the work these teams have done so far can’t be overlooked, but some have done a lot better than others. The teams that have done better have put themselves in a good position to take whoever they want because of the holes they filled in free agency. The others are going to need to hope that the draft falls in a way that helps them if they want to keep up. Here’s an analysis of their moves this offseason, cap space, and if they are a winner or loser so far in free agency.

Grading NFC East moves in 2023 NFL Free Agency

Dallas Cowboys

Franchise Tagged: RB Tony Pollard

Signed: QB Cooper Rush, LB Leighton Vander Esch, S Donovan Wilson, RB Rico Dowdle, CB C.J. Goodwin, OL Chuma Edoga, DE Dante Fowler Jr., RB Ronald Jones

Traded for: WR Brandin Cooks, CB Stephon Gilmore

Players Lost: OL Connor McGovern, LB Luke Gifford, WR Noah Brown, TE Dalton Schultz, LS Jake McQuaide

Released: RB Ezekiel Elliott

Cap Space: $16,208,911 not including the $10 million they will get post-June 1st from the Elliott release.

The Cowboys are the overall winners in free agency in terms of the NFC East moves made so far. They’ve brought back two key pieces on defense in safety Donovan Wilson and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. That wasn’t good enough for this front office though as they made trades for cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks giving up a fifth-round pick for Gilmore and a fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth-round pick for Cooks.

Those deals alone make this a win for the Cowboys, trading for players that boost their offense and defense is a huge win for this team. Will McClay who’s been the lead guy for their player personnel department has done a nice job filling holes in the lead-up to the draft.

He was able to get back other notable role players along with two free agent signings to fill big holes on this roster after losing left guard Connor McGovern in free agency and releasing Ezekiel Elliott. The additions of guard Chuma Edoga and running back Ronald Jones now truly allow the Cowboys to do what they do best in the draft, take the best player available regardless of the position and with $16 million in cap space and another $10 million from the release of Elliott.

That money sets them up to extend the likes of CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs, pay their rookies, and sign players if they have a string of injuries during the season.

Free Agency Grade: A- (Winner)

New York Giants

Franchise Tagged: Saquon Barkley

Signed: QB Daniel Jones, LB Bobby Okereke, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, P Jamie Gillan, RB Matt Breida, WR Sterling Shepard, LB Jarrad Davis, WR Isaiah Hodgins, LS Casey Kreiter, WR Jeff Smith, WR Parris Campbell, OLB Jihad Ward, WR Darius Slayton, CB Leonard Johnson, S Bobby McCain

Traded for: TE Darren Waller

Players Lost: OL Nick Gates, S Julian Love, OL Jon Feliciano

Released: WR Kenny Golladay

Cap Space: $3,732,171

At the start of free agency, the Giants had quite a bit of cap space but after the signing of quarterback Daniel Jones and franchising running back Saquon Barkley they still had enough money to go out and make moves to try and help their new franchise quarterback. So far they’ve signed five wide receivers, they also made a move much like the Cowboys that shocked everyone trading for tight end Darren Waller for a third-round pick and immediately giving Jones the best tight end in the NFC East, when healthy.

They’ve also added a few nice pieces on defense, bolstering their defensive line with Nunez-Roches, linebackers Okereke and Davis, and safety McCain.

The one area they still have work to do is along the offensive line, now that they’ve signed their quarterback and given him weapons it means nothing if they are unable to protect him or establish a running game. Last season Jones saved the team thanks to his ability to run the football and extend plays. In order to keep him healthy and give him a clean pocket they should have tried to go out and sign an offensive lineman or two.

As of right now they’ve lost two offensive linemen and have yet to replace them in free agency. Maybe they plan to take some linemen early in the draft but they are pretty far down the list in terms of draft position and that could blow up in their faces.

Free Agency Grade: B+ (Winner)

Philadelphia Eagles

Franchise Tagged: N/A

Signed: DT Fletcher Cox, CB James Bradberry, DE Brandon Graham, RB Rashaad Penny, C Jason Kelce, OT Brett Toth, CB Darius Slay, CB Greedy Williams, QB Marcus Mariota, LB Nicholas Morrow, S  Justin Evans,

Traded for: N/A

Players Lost: DT Javon Hargrave, OL Andre Dillard, RB Miles Sanders, OL Isaac Seumalo, LB T.J. Edwards, S Marcus Epps, LB Kyzir White, S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, QB Gardner Minshew, WR Zach Pascal

Released: N/A

Cap Space: $13,925,510

Out of all the NFC East teams, the Eagles have been the hardest hit in terms of losing players in free agency, they’ve starters on both sides of the football and that is something that can really hurt them in 2024. The amount of major contributors they’ve lost is going to be tough to recover from in just one offseason but the Eagles were able to keep some of their free agents with probably the most important being center Travis Kelce. Their front office knew this was coming but with quarterback Jalen Hurts contract on the horizon they’ve been a bit shy about spending money.

Howie Roseman has done an excellent job of keeping this team competitive regardless of many players they’ve lost in the past and he’s been trying to fill holes on the defensive side of the football in free agency, and it now looks like he’s looking to find more players in the draft. But with holes are running back, offensive guard, linebacker, safety, and defensive tackle he’s going to have a lot of work to do in order to get quality players at all of those positions.

Free Agency Grade: B- (Winner)

Washington Commanders

Franchise Tagged: N/A

Signed: DT Daron Payne, OT Andrew Wylie, DB Danny Johnson, LB Cody Barton, LB David Mayo, OL Nick Gates, WR Marcus Kemp, QB Jacoby Brissett, DE Efe Obada, CB Cameron Dantzler, C Tyler Larsen

Traded for: N/A

Players Lost: LB Cole Holcomb, QB Taylor Heinicke, OL Wes Schweitzer, WR Cam Sims

Released: RB J.D. McKissic, S Bobby McCain, QB Carson Wentz

Cap Space: $2,955,885

The Commanders are the only NFC East team that seems to be focusing more on the draft than signing free agents. Now the possible sale of the team could have something to do with it because so far they’ve been relatively quiet on the free agent front but they did make a few moves signing two offensive linemen Wylie and Gates. They also brought in veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett to compete for a starting role if they are unable to draft a top quarterback in this draft. The one positive they have during this free agency period was the re-signing of DaRon Payne who they franchise-tagged and then signed before free agency began.

The players they lost aren’t going to hurt them that much in terms of production on the field with the replacements they did bring in. Now the fact that the players they’ve signed aren’t getting paid until May could be a reason that players aren’t even looking at the Commanders as an option right now and for good reason.

The fight between owner Dan Snyder and the NFL has seemingly spilled over into their free agency and it’s really hurting them.

Free Agency Grade: D- (Loser)