NFC East burning questions for 2024: Cowboys, Dak Prescott nearing end? Daniel Jones have enough to succeed?

The NFC East remains unpredictable when it comes to finding a division champion, as there has been no repeat winner in the division for 19 consecutive seasons – breaking a NFL record. This is bad news for the Dallas Cowboys, who were NFC East champions last season and are looking to repeat.

The Philadelphia Eagles were the last NFC East champions, winning four consecutive division championships from 2001 to 2004, showing the incredible parity of this division each season. Remember, it was just two years ago that the NFC East was the best division in football, with three playoff teams reaching the divisional round of the playoffs. Right now, there are two teams in the division determining the futures of their starting quarterbacks and one team is rebuilding.

The Eagles are trying to come back Super Bowl contention, the Cowboys are trying to make it out of the divisional round, the New York Giants aren’t sure what direction they’re headed in while the Washington Commanders hit the reset button and are rebuilding with a new head coach and franchise quarterback.

There are some intriguing questions the NFC East must answer heading into the 2024 season, especially with training camp beginning in July.

Dallas Cowboys

Is this Dak Prescott’s last season in Dallas?

The Cowboys made their offseason significantly more interesting by not giving Prescott a contract extension and guaranteeing that he will be with the franchise for the next few seasons. Here’s the scenario Dallas put themselves in because they didn’t sign Prescott:

1. Let him walk after the season, making the 2024 season “Super Bowl or bust” without having an answer at quarterback for 2025 and beyond.
2. Make Prescott the highest-paid quarterback in the world NFL and be tied to him for a few more seasons at an average annual salary of over $55 million per year.

Prescott is currently tied for the 11th-highest-paid quarterback in the league at $40 million per season, but has a cap hit of $55,132,647 in 2024. Because Dallas decided not to give the 31-year-old Prescott an extension, the move (or lack thereof) hampered the franchise’s ability to add talent to the roster with available cap space.

Maybe the Cowboys are ready to move on from Prescott after eight seasons, even though he came second NFL MVP voting last season and led the league in touchdown passes with 36. Prescott is a good quarterback, but the 2-5 record in the playoffs will be a blow to him until a deep postseason run is made.

The Cowboys have made this a “now or never” season with Prescott, who will receive a large extension from Dallas or another team. This didn’t need to be the case.

Philadelphia Eagles

Will James Bradberry be on the team at the start of training camp?

The Eagles will have to make a decision regarding Bradberry in the coming weeks, and his attendance at mandatory minicamp could be an indicator of where things stand.

Bradberry is still on the roster, but the Eagles can designate him as a post-June 1 cut and won’t owe anything against the salary cap. Bradberry’s contract would have $4.305 million in dead cap space, but the Eagles could simply eat the money if the 31-year-old isn’t in the team’s plans to start in 2024. The dead cap could be spread over two seasons.

Bradberry is not a special player and would earn a lot to be a backup. If Bradberry isn’t a starter, it doesn’t make sense for the Eagles to have him in their cornerback group. Bradberry would also like his future to be resolved as soon as possible so he can find other job opportunities with another team.

The Eagles invested heavily in the cornerback position during the draft, drafting Quinyon Mitchell in the first round (No. 22 overall) and Cooper DeJean in the second (No. 40). Darius Slay is locked into one of the starting spots, while Mitchell is certainly a candidate to start Day 1 on the outside. The Eagles also have Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, Josh Jobe and Isaiah Rodgers competing for that role, and Rodgers stood out during the early part of minicamp. Ringo and Jobe are also good special teams players.

Essentially, Bradberry has to start to have a future with the Eagles.

New York Giants

Are there enough weapons for Daniel Jones to succeed?

The easy question would be: What will the Giants do with Daniel Jones after the season so they can get out of his four-year, $160 million contract? Jones has a $47.855 million cap hit this season, so he will enter the year as the starting quarterback with an uncertain future. Did the Giants give Jones enough help for him to have a chance to keep his job?

Malik Nabers was the clear pick, going 6th overall in the draft, giving Jones the best wide receiver he has ever played with. Nabers should be Jones’ top target, as the Giants will pair him with Darius Slayton, 2022 second-round pick Wan’Dale Robinson and 2023 third-round pick Jalin Hyatt. Allen Robinson was also an agent free.

Darren Waller appears ready to retire, so Daniel Bellinger and fourth-round rookie Theo Johnson will move up the tight end depth chart. Jones also lost his best offensive playmaker from last season, Saquon Barkley, who moved down I-95 to the Eagles. Devin Singletary was signed to replace Barkley as the No. 1 running back.

On paper, this pass-catching group might be the best Jones has ever had. Will it be enough for Jones to throw 20+ touchdown passes in a season and have a passer rating above 95.0? Even if Jones puts up those numbers, will it be enough to keep his job if the Giants don’t win more than eight games?

How Jones progresses with these playmakers will be key to his future with the organization.

Washington commanders

As Jayden Daniels fare in its debut season?

The Commanders decided to rebuild after a disastrous season in 2023, embracing a fresh start with Dan Quinn as head coach and rookie Jayden Daniels at quarterback. Kliff Kingsbury and Brian Johnson will be responsible for developing Daniels, whose dual-threat ability at the position will be a problem for NFC East defenses in Year 1.

How will Commanders utilize Daniels? Will they allow him to take off at will or improve him a bit to keep him healthy for 17 games and develop him as a passer? If the Commanders let Daniels loose, he could put up some huge numbers on the floor and help the offense put points on the board.

Daniels also has good wide receivers like Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson to lean on, a plus for any first-year starting quarterback. Having Austin Ekeler as a passing option at running back and a reliable tight end in Zach Ertz doesn’t hurt either.

The Commanders are better with Daniels at quarterback. If Daniels can avoid turnovers, the Commanders’ rebuild could be significantly faster than expected.