The Washington Commanders spent the offseason trying to catch the Philadelphia Eagles. While the two teams split their regular-season meetings last season, the Eagles dismantled the Commanders 55-23 in the NFC championship. While the final score was lopsided, Washington was in position to make it a game multiple times, but could not overcome turnovers.
This offseason, Washington has been aggressive in its attempt to surround franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels with more protection and weapons as he enters the second season of his rookie contract. Meanwhile, the Eagles continue to reload after losing some key starters in free agency.
What about the rest of the NFC East? The New York Giants have aggressively attacked the quarterback position, signing former starters Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, and spending a first-round pick on Jaxson Dart. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys virtually sat out of free agency.
So, which NFC East team had the worst offseason? Bleacher Report recently named each division’s offseason loser. Unsurprisingly, it went to the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys parted ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy, lost lead running back Rico Dowdle in free agency and right guard Zack Martin retired.
One can argue that the Cowboys downgraded from McCarthy to a far less accomplished replacement in Brian Schottenheimer, who will be a full-time head coach for the first time in his career.
Even though the Cowboys selected first-rounder Tyler Booker to succeed Martin at right guard, their personnel doesn’t spark much optimism for an improved ground game. Running backs Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders will lead the backfield.
Williams and Sanders are both coming off down years. The latter had his least productive season in an injury-riddled 2024 campaign with the Carolina Panthers.
If quarterback Dak Prescott avoids the injury bug, the Cowboys should be a better team than last year’s group with backup signal-caller Cooper Rush under center. However, he may not have much help from the ground game, and his inexperienced head coach will need to find an offensive balance.
It’s been a long time since almost every NFL analyst sees Washington in a better light than Dallas. New ownership, a new GM, coaching staff, and franchise quarterback have changed everything for the Commanders.
You could argue that every NFC East team had a solid offseason. However, the Cowboys’ lack of urgency in free agency continues to hurt them. Meanwhile, the Commanders used the trade market to help them close the gap between them and Philadelphia.
The Eagles remain the class of the division, but the Commanders and Daniels are not going away anytime soon.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Which NFC East lost the offseason?
