NFC East 2014 Free Agency Signings

The most marketable division in the NFL made a lot of big news in this year's free agency. Starting off with the Dallas Cowboys letting go of their star defensive linemen in DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher, and Anthony Spencer. Jerry Jones' salary cap figure for the Cowboys lead the franchise to step backward toward their quest for the Super Bowl.

The Philadelphia Eagles' release of DeSean Jackson made a lot of people wonder how Chip Kelly runs the Eagles Franchise. Some of the players don't see anything that makes Jackson and Kelly uncomfortable inside their facilities. That makes everyone in the roster in their hot seat of not committing any violations of Chip Kelly' house rules.

The New York Giants spending this offseason didn't make a lot of buzz before they signed Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from the Denver Broncos. They outbid the New York counterpart in Jets which needs a physical cornerback to play Rex Ryan's scheme. The Giants underachieved last season and could continue to struggle after not signing their leader in Justin Tuck and the retirement of David Diehl.

The Washington Redskins wide salary cap space thanks to the lifted penalty that holds their franchise backwards in previous years. Robert Griffin III is now 100% healthy having a new coach that trusted him to be the starting quarterback and a new system that will fit their recent signings in Andre Roberts and DeSean Jackson.

Let's take a look at each teams 2014 free agency additions.
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WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Jay Gruden and Bruce Allen brought some good players from the 2014 free agency pool. Even better, resigning their homegrown talent Brian Orakpo, Perry Riley, and Rob Jackson solidified their linebacker corps for seasons to come. The rehabilitation of RG3 is their offseason priority as well as getting more players to compete for the teams' starting position in this coming training camp. Here are the Washington Redskins recent signings this free agency period:

Chris Baker
Brian Orakpo
Santana Moss
Perry Riley
Shawn Lauvao
Adam Hayward
Clifton Geathers
Andre Roberts
Jason Hatcher
Darryl Sharpton
Jake Rogers
Tracy Porter
Brandon Meriweather
Akeem Jordan
E.J. Biggers
Mike McGlynn
Ryan Clark
DeSean Jackson
Colt McCoy
Rob Jackson
Blake Clingan
Akeem Davis

A mix of star players, proven veterans, and under-the-radar prospects are signed by the Redskins to compete for the open NFC East divisional crown. Signing their rivals stars in DeSean Jackson from the Eagles and Jason Hatcher from the Cowboys made them more invulnerable by taking off their weakness from other team's strength.

Teaming up DeAngelo Hall with proven veterans in Tracy Porter, Brandon Meriweather, and Ryan Clark patrolling their secondary gives more flexibility to their defensive coordinator Jim Haslett to call blitz to create some turnovers for their team.
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NEW YORK GIANTS

The New York Giants didn't spend on big name free agents and failed to sign some of their homegrown players but doing so made them more flexible in signing more free agents that will give some upgrade to their previous starters. An offseason away from messed season for Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese, bringing some legitimate starters to build their franchise with came in this free agency period. Let's take a look of their free agency signings so far:

Josh Brown
Stevie Brown
Peyton Hillis
Trumaine McBride
Curtis Painter
Geoff Schwartz
J.D. Walton
Jon Beason
Jameel McClain
Quintin Demps
Walter Thurmond
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Trindon Holliday
Mario Manningham
Zack Bowman
Mike Patterson
Charles Brown
Robert Ayers
Kellen Davis
Travis Harvey

Stevie Brown, Walter Thurmond and DRC filled the needs of their secondary despite not signing Terrell Thomas in the first wave of free agency. Helping Prince Amukamara to handle their pass coverage will give their front seven some split second to pressure the quarterback.

Even though they offered Justin Tuck a contract that determined his value in this point and time of his NFL career, Robert Ayers came in on a cheaper deal and will take place of Tuck's assignments on pressuring the quarterback.
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DALLAS COWBOYS

The Dallas Cowboys offseason headlined the releasing of their star players than actually signing their new players like Brandon Weeden and Jeremy Mincey. Releasing DeMarcus Ware and Miles Austin will yield a lot of dead money and will make their franchise step backwards a year or two. With their recent signings this free agency, we will see a lot more of players come to replace their incumbent starters in the draft and undrafted free agents this offseason. Here are their current acquisitions in the first wave of free agency:

Chris Jones
Terrell McClain
Jeremy Mincey
Will Herring
Henry Melton
Brandon Weeden

Brandon Weeden will backup Tony Romo and will compete with Kyle Orton for second string quarterback. Weeden will now have time to seat behind the veteran and learn from Romo and Orton on how to manage the game which was never happened for him in the Cleveland Browns.

Jeremy Mincey, Terrell McClain, and Henry Melton will try to replace DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher, and Anthony Spencer to their starting defensive line. Now that Rod Marinelli is the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, their defensive line should bring more production than ever before.
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

The Philadelphia Eagles was the NFC East division champs last season and their lone representative for the post-season. Chip Kelly and his spread offense fits nicely to the Eagles personnel and became an instant success for the franchise. The release of DeSean Jackson cleans up any distraction they had in the regular season. Let's take a look of their free agency additions this free agency:

David Sims
Jason Peters
Riley Cooper
Jason Kelce
Jeremy Maclin
Cedric Thornton
Donnie Jones
Malcolm Jenkins
Nolan Carroll
Nate Allen
Mark Sanchez

Jason Peters and Jason Kelce were locked up to future contracts in order to secure their talented offensive line in place. Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin will have bigger roles on the wake of Jackson's release. Signing their own guys for future contracts give some stability to their locker room and Chip Kelly's success for the next seasons to come.

The signing of Mark Sanchez will give Nick Foles a healthy competition for the starting quarterback. It may yield as a distraction for Kelly's locker room but Sanchez knew what happened to Jackson's place in the Eagles roster if he didn't behave like a professional football player in Kelly's house.
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OVERALL

The NFC East will always bring excitement for their fans because each team is competitive to gain some bragging rights over their divisional rivals. The Washington Redskins is the most improved team this offseason and the less talented team right now is the Dallas Cowboys for releasing some of their household name players due to their salary cap issues. Chip Kelly's Eagles will be consistent on what they do best for retaining their star players and Tom Coughlin's Giants redemption for his third Super Bowl quest will happen this next season. For this tight competition, each team is capable enough to bring NFC East divisional crown for their franchise.