NFC East Free Agency Recap So Far
We are almost a week into NFL free agency and there has been some major player movement within the NFC East. Here are some of the biggest moves to remember.
Photo Credit: Vincent Carchietta, USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Eagles
Saquon Barkley
The Eagles made a huge splash on Monday morning when they agreed to terms with former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. The two sides agreed to a three-year $37.35 million deal. Last season with the Giants, Barkley rushed for 962 yards and had 280 receiving yards on 41 receptions. Even though Barkley has an injury history, he has shown that he can still produce at a high level behind a below-average offensive line in New York. With a better offensive line in Philadelphia, the hope is Barkley can stay healthy and return to being an elite running back.
Bryce Huff
The Eagles also added some much-needed pass rush help by signing defensive end Bryce Huff to a three-year $51.1 million deal. Huff spent the first four years of his career as a rotational pass rusher for the New York Jets. Huff gathered 10 sacks in 480 snaps last season more sacks than some players who had more playing time.
Defensively the Eagles’ pass rush took a step back last season, only gathering 43 sacks compared to the 70 they had in the 2022/2023 season. With the addition of Huff the Eagles are looking to return to their dominant pass rush of 2022.
Chauncey (C.J.) Gardner Johnson
After one season with the Detroit Lions C.J. Gardner Johnson is back with the Eagles. Johnson signed a three year contract that is worth up to $33 million. Johnson last stint with the Eagles was during the 2022/2023 season when they made the Super Bow. In 2022 he gathered six interceptions and had 67 tackles from the free safety position. Along with his elite play Johnson also brought moxie to the team with his trash talk. Bringing him back will help the defense immensely.
Other Signings
The Eagles have also resigned veterans who have been with the team for a while. The resigning started with a one-year contract extension for defensive tackle Brandon Graham. They also brought back left guard Landon Dickerson and kicker Jake Elliot. Dickerson signed a four-year $84 million deal, and Elliot signed a four-year $24 million deal.
Mew York Giants
Brian Burns
The most note worthy move the New York Giants have made is trading for Carolina Panthers star defensive end Brian Burns. In order to acquire Burns the Giants traded a second and a fifth round pick to the Panthers. Once the trade was finalized the Giants signed Burns to a five year contract worth up to $150 million. Adding a player in Burns who has yet to have a season under seven sacks in his five year career will help a giants defense that struggled to get to the quarterback last season immensely.
Devin Singletary
After losing Saquon Barkley to the Philadelphia Eagles the Giants needed to make a move at running back. They did so by adding former Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans running back Devin Singletary to a three-year $16.5 million base contract. Last year was Singletary’s best rushing season, gaining 898 yards on the ground. Singletary is also a decent receiving back as he had 193 yards through the air last year. While Singletary may not provide as much opportunity for explosive plays as Barkley did he is still a good running back to have on the roster.
Drew Lock
The Giants signed former Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million. Lock was drafted at No.42 overall in the 2019 draft by the Denver Broncos. He spent the first three years of his career in Denver, starting 24 games. Locks’ stats as a bronco included a completion percentage of 59.2%, 4.740 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. After the 2021 season, Lock was sent to Seattle in a deal for quarterback Russell Wilson. That meant that he would be the backup quarterback to Geno Smith in Seattle and didn’t see the field in the 2022/2023 season. This past season, Lock played in four games (2 starts) and had a completion percentage of 63.1%, 435 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. While he may not be able to challenge for Daniel Jones starting job, he is a serviceable backup.
Jon Runyan
The Giants had a major need at offensive line heading into the offseason after leading the league in sacks given up last season with 85. To address this need, the Giants offered offensive guard Jon Runyan a three-year contract for $30 million, with $17 million guaranteed. Runyan has spent the first four years of his career in Green Bay with the Packers. Throughout his time in Green Bay he allowed only seven sacks in 1,897 passing blocking snaps. Consistent play like that is what the Giants need on their offensive line, so this was a much-needed addition.
Washington Commanders
Tyler Biadasz
The Commanders went into the offseason needing to overhaul their whole team, but there was no more important player group to overhaul than their offensive line. last season, the Commanders gave up 65 sacks, which was second-worst in the NFL behind the Giants. Like the Giants, the Commanders went out and made a splash offensive line signing when they agreed to a three-year $30 million deal with center Tyler Biadasz. Biadasz spent the first four years of his career in Dallas with the Commanders’ new head coach, Dan Quinn. In his four seasons with the Cowboys, Biadasz only allowed four sacks, but he did have 23 penalties. Although 11 of those penalties were in 2021, which means the other three seasons, he had five or fewer penalties. Biadasz is a solid player and a great addition to the Commanders.
Jeremy Chinn
The Commanders also added to their secondary by signing safety Jeremy Chinn to a one-year deal worth $5.1 million. Chinn played the first four years of his career in Carolina and amassed 324 tackles, four sacks, three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions. He had a down year in 2023 due to injuries and the Panthers not using him correctly, but he can still be an impactful player at only 26. If Chinn ends up having a bounce-back year with the Commanders, it is possible he can be a longer-term solution for them at safety.
Frankie Luvu
In addition to signing a former Panthers safety the Commanders fortified the middle of their defense by signing former Panthers middle linebacker Frankie Luvu. He joins the Commanders on a three-year deal with a maximum value of $36 million.
Luvu entered the league undrafted in 2018 but was signed by the New York Jets. As a Jet, Luvu wasn’t a massive contributor, only totaling 59 tackles in three seasons. However, when he joined the Panthers in 2021, he had his most productive season up to that point, gathering 43 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Entering the 2022 season, Luvu became the starting linebacker and gathered 111 tackles, seven sacks and one interception that year. This past year, Luvu recorded 125 tackles and 5.5 sacks.
Other Signings
The signings mentioned above are only some of the players the Commanders have added so far. However, the Commanders have been super active in this free-agent cycle and have added many more players. Such as running back Austin Ekeler, middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, and defensive end Dorance Armstrong. Ekeler was signed to a two-year deal. The veteran Wagner was signed to a one-year deal worth up to 8.5 million and Armstrong was signed to a three-year deal worth up to $45 million.
Dallas Cowboys
Eric Kendricks
The Dallas Cowboys have signed one player outside of their building so far this offseason, and it is former Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Eric Kendricks. Kendricks spent the 2023 season with the Chargers and had 117 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. Prior to 2023, Kendricks spent eight seasons with the Vikings and had 919 total tackles, 54 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, four forced fumbles and nine interceptions. Most of Kendricks's time in Minnesota was spent under head coach Mike Zimmer, who is now the defensive coordinator in Dallas. Since Zimmer knows how to use Kendricks correctly, he has a high chance of succeeding in Dallas.