The teams in the NFC East have gone through many twists and turns over the last few weeks of training camp.
That has been par for the course for this division with none of the four teams repeating as champions since the 2003-04 Eagles.
Poor drafts, bad play, and a failure to live up to expectations have plagued the once great division to becoming the league’s weakest in football. That doesn’t mean they’ve stayed out of some of the top storylines across football.
Today we look at the latest pieces of news that have come out from each team in the NFC East.
Giants and Cowboys continue to suffer injuries
The New York Giants have suffered a rash of injuries over the last few weeks. Collin Johnson was lost for the season Wednesday due to a torn Achilles, fifth overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux was lost for a few weeks after a cut block in the preseason game Sunday, and two other rookies have been lost for the season.
The Giants haven’t had a stressful or strict offseason. With new head coach Brian Daboll, it’s clear the ultra-physicality that Joe Judge preached was not of importance to the new coach. Somehow, the injuries have continues to plague New York.
Add in other soft-tissue injuries with Kadarius Toney and other Giant players and the team could be limping to the start of the season without much depth or any of their key guys.
Yet with all the injuries suffered by the Giants, they all pale in comparison to the impact of the latest injury news out of Dallas.
According to reports Cowboy’s left tackle, Tyron Smith is lost for multiple months of the season due to a torn hamstring suffered in practice.
Smith is a future Hall-of-Famer and was one of the most consistent left tackles in the 2010s. With Dallas already losing Amari Cooper and multiple offensive linemen from the year prior, Smith’s injury could be disastrous when the Cowboys take the field for week one.
Dak Prescott and the Cowboy’s offense are 13-8 without Smith over the last few years, however, 5 of the last seven wins have come against a weaker NFC East. The four losses have come against the Broncos, Chiefs, Jets, and Packers respectively.
Smith’s injury is a major early turning point in the race for the NFC East crown and could threaten Dallas’ chance of repeating for the first time since the ’95-’96 seasons.
Are the Eagles catching a bug?
Outside of the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles are next in line for favorites in the NFC East. They have also had their run of injuries, but none have been too serious that threaten week one of the seasons.
Then the team went down to Miami for joint practices with the Dolphins. While the two teams competed well, Miami ended up canceling the second practice due to a run of players getting a stomach bug overnight.
The Dolphins canceled practice Thursday afternoon, but that doesn’t mean Philadelphia is off the hook. If Miami’s stomach bug were to somehow get into the Eagle’s locker room, it could put many players in danger for opening day.
As of now, Philadelphia hasn’t reported any players being sick, but a slow start due to a rash of stomach viruses could seriously danger the Eagles’ chances of winning the NFC East.
Is Washington a dark horse for the NFC East crown?
While the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles are all nursing injuries, it appears the Washington Commanders are preparing to get people back.
Washington activated tight end, Logan Thomas, off the PUP list on Monday and the top pass catcher is already participating in practice. After suffering a torn ACL last season, Thomas has a chance to help a quiet Washington squad sneak up on the rest of their division.
The season will ultimately come down to Carson Wentz and how he performs being back in the NFC East, but Washington has solid receivers, a good running back group, and an excellent front seven. Even with Chase Young missing the first four games of the season for being on the PUP List, the Commanders could certainly be a surprise pick to win the NFC East.
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