The New York Giants entered free agency with plenty of holes to fill, and to their credit, they didn’t sit back and do nothing. General manager Joe Schoen went to work rebuilding the secondary, adding Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland to stabilize a defense that desperately needed reinforcements.
But while those moves were necessary, they don’t answer the biggest question still looming over this team—who’s playing quarterback?
Meanwhile, the rest of the NFC East wasn’t sitting on their hands. One division rival made a blockbuster move to protect their young quarterback. Another pulled off a trade for a game-changing weapon. And, of course, the Philadelphia Eagles found a new way to make Giants fans miserable.
So, who made the biggest splash? Here are the four best moves of the NFC East so far.
4. Eagles reset RB market with Saquon Barkley extension
The Giants let Saquon Barkley walk because they didn’t want to pay a running back big money. The Eagles? They took one look at that logic and laughed. Not only did they sign Barkley to a bargain deal last offseason, but they just gave him a second contract—this time a historic two-year, $41.2 million extension with a record-setting $36 million guaranteed.
Barkley rewarded Philly’s trust by putting up a ridiculous 2,500-yard season, carrying them to a Super Bowl win, and now they’ve made sure he’s staying put. The Giants, meanwhile, are trying to convince themselves that letting him go was the right call. Spoiler: It wasn’t.
3. Commanders trade for Laremy Tunsil
Washington saw what happened in the NFC Championship Game, watched Jayden Daniels get pummeled, and decided enough was enough. So they went out and landed Laremy Tunsil—one of the best left tackles in football—in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Texans.
Tunsil isn’t just a good lineman. He’s a game-changer. And for a team that desperately needed to protect its young quarterback, giving up multiple picks was an easy price to pay. Washington just turned a major weakness into a strength.
2. G-Men overhaul secondary with Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland
Finally, some defensive reinforcements in East Rutherford. The Big Blue’s secondary was an unmitigated disaster last year, but Schoen actually did something about it, landing Adebo on a three-year, $54 million deal and Holland on a three-year, $45.3 million deal.
Adebo gives them a legitimate CB1, while Holland replaces Xavier McKinney and brings versatility to the safety position. Will it fix everything? No. But it’s the first time in a while that the Giants have a secondary that isn’t being held together with duct tape.
1. Commanders fleece the 49ers for Deebo Samuel
The Commanders just traded a fifth-round pick for Deebo Samuel. Read that again. A fifth-round pick.
San Francisco clearly wanted to do right by Deebo, but Washington didn’t just get a steal—they committed highway robbery. Samuel now joins Terry McLaurin in an offense that suddenly looks dangerous. If he stays healthy, this might be the move that makes the Commanders real contenders.
One week in, and the NFC East is already making power moves. The Giants have improved, but the division isn’t slowing down. And if the G-Men don’t find their quarterback soon, all of these other upgrades won’t mean much when they’re watching from the bottom of the standings.