With the roster-building phase of the offseason just about to kick into high gear with the start of free agency, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman will soon attempt to put together/keep together a roster capable of winning a second straight NFC East title and, more significantly, another Super Bowl.
It has been well publicized that no NFC East team has won consecutive division titles since coach Andy Reid’s Eagles won the division a fourth straight time in 2004.
The Washington Commanders, the team the Eagles beat in the NFC Championship, figure to be the biggest threat to a divisional repeat and they bolstered their chances Saturday by agreeing to a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for disgruntled star receiver Deebo Samuel. The 49ers reportedly are getting a fifth-round pick in return. His mere presence on the Commanders makes the division more interesting. More about the Commanders in a moment.
It has been an odd two-decade run for the NFC East, especially when you look at what has happened in the NFL’s other divisions during that same time period.
Besides the four teams in the NFC East, the only teams that haven’t won back-to-back division titles since 2005 are the Jaguars, Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Raiders and Cardinals.
The Eagles have a chance to end the peculiar NFC East drought in 2025 and given that they are the Super Bowl champions, they will be heavily favored to do so.
Roseman’s roster building will start with free agency and the main objective will be keeping linebacker Zack Baun, defensive end Josh Sweat, defensive tackle Milton Williams and offensive guard Mekhi Becton.
The Eagles, according to OverTheCap.com, have $22 million in cap space at the moment. They also have seven draft picks. They have the 32nd pick in the first round, 64th in the second round and 96th in the third round. They also have one fourth round and three fifth-round picks.
Here’s a look at what their NFC East rivals look like with the new league year set to begin March 12:
Commanders: Coach Dan Quinn and first-year general manager Adam Peters did a terrific job of changing the culture in Washington and with Jayden Daniels at quarterback coming off a sensational rookie season, they are clearly a team on the rise. It helps that the Commanders also have a ton of cap space — it will be $64.35 million even after they take on Samuel’s full salary for the 2025 season.
Like the Eagles, the Commanders will be trying to retain some veterans who had a major impact for them in 2024. That list starts with ageless linebacker Bobby Wagner, who will turn 35 in June, and also includes 30-year-old edge rusher Dante Fowler, who left the Cowboys to be with the Commanders.
Tight end Zach Ertz is also a free agent and he was the team’s second leading receiver last season. Ertz is 34 and top receiver Terry McLaurin will turn 30 early next season. Austin Ekeler, the team’s top receiving threat out of the backfield, will also be 30 next season, so the Commanders obviously counted on some aging players during their successful run last season. Samuel is a great addition, but he is 29.
The receiving trio of Olamide Zaccheus, Noah Brown and Dyami Brown are also among the team’s long list of free agents.
Peters' best work as GM was putting together a very good offensive line with the underrated signing of center Tyler Biadasz away from the Cowboys. The GM will need to have another good free-agent signing period if the Commanders are going to win the NFC East in 2025.
The Commanders have seven picks in the draft, including three they received in trades with the Eagles. They will have the 29th pick in the first round, the 61st pick in the second round, the 79th pick in the third round (from Eagles for Jahan Dotson), one pick in the fifth round and three picks in the seventh round.
Cowboys: They have won the division seven times — the same amount as the Eagles — since 2005, but they have just four playoff victories during that time frame, which is nine fewer than the Eagles.
A year ago at this time owner Jerry Jones was telling people the Cowboys were all in for the 2024 season, but they did little to improve the roster before eventually giving quarterback Dak Prescott a four-year extension worth $240 million that figures to keep him in Dallas for at least three more seasons. Receiver CeeDee Lamb got a four-year, $136 million extension that also figures to keep him around through 2027.
Prescott, who’ll be 32 in July, played in just eight games because of a gruesome hamstring injury and Lamb dealt with a shoulder injury that eventually forced him to shut down with two games remaining. The Cowboys only have $3.8 million in cap space and their once vaunted offensive line is now a bit of a mess.
The Cowboys have the No. 12 pick in the first round, the 44th pick in the second round and the 76th pick in the third round. They also have four picks in the fifth round, two in the sixth round and one in the seventh round.
They don’t look like a threat to the Eagles right now.
Giants: They wanted Matthew Stafford to be their quarterback, but he ended up back with the Rams. They still have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL and an uncertain plan at quarterback. We won’t waste too much time detailing their many needs because our outstanding beat reporters Darryl Slater and Ryan Novozinsky do so on a daily basis. Let’s just say they appear to be the team least likely to catch the Eagles in 2025.
Their once disastrous salary-cap situation has improved. At $48 million, they rank 14th in that department. They have the third overall pick in the draft in the first round, the 34th overall pick in the second round and pick No. 65 in the third round. They also have two fourth-round picks, one fifth-round selection and two seventh-round selections.
The Giants had a good draft last season and it’s possible they could be ready to catch the Cowboys in 2025. But they are still not close to being a threat to the Eagles, who have finished ahead of the Giants in seven of the last eight seasons.
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Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com