While the rest of the NFC East struggled to raise the cash to spend on their own free agents, let alone free agents from other teams, the Philadelphia Eagles were able to spend at their leisure from the get-go in free agency. 

However, instead of splurging on banner names, the Eagles instead decided to target specific players that suited their schemes and preferences. The result? A very disciplined but productive start to the offseason. Let's break it down.

This offseason is all about moving on from a failed final era under Andy Reid and developing a new mentality and core under Chip Kelly—and I think they're on the right track. Jason Babin was already gone before the season ended and Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Cullen Jenkins joined him in March. 

Instead of simply looking for replacements for those guys, Philly went hunting for big, aggressive and versatile players, typically from winning teams. 

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You know a move is controversial when even Donovan McNabb is firing shots. Twitter, Reddit and message boards are blazing with outrage, shock and poor amateur comedy after the Dallas Cowboys extended Tony Romo's contract in record-breaking style on Friday.

The extension itself isn't surprising, but few expected a soon-to-be-33-year-old with one career playoff victory to receive more guaranteed money than Joe Flacco, who is half-a-decade younger and was the Super Bowl MVP in February. 

Flacco became the highest-paid player in NFL history when he received $52 million guaranteed as part of a six-year, $120.6 million deal from the Baltimore Ravens earlier this offseason. But NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reports that Romo's six-year extension with Dallas guarantees him $55 million. 

Bitch and whine all you'd like, but this is all that matters: Jerry Jones and Co. had no choice. 

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At the outset of the offseason, you never would have guessed that by the time March came to an end the Washington Redskins would have signed nearly twice as many free agents as they lost to other teams. 

The 'Skins had to scratch and claw merely to sneak under the salary cap in time, and yet they've found a way to keep the vast majority of the roster together. That bodes well for their chances of winning back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1984 and 1985. 

With only a move or two lingering, let's assess and review what has happened in Washington during free agency.

Washington only technically lost two starters, but Cedric Griffin was the nickel cornerback, so it's sort of like three. All three come from the secondary, which was already the team's Achilles' heel to begin with. That's scary. 

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I had kept asking the same question. Here, on Twitter, while showering. Sometimes while driving with nobody else in the car. 

Why are Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys taking so much time to come to terms on a long-term contract extension?

Now, I may have an answer. 

As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported on Thursday night, the Cowboys can't actually place the franchise tag on Romo when his deal expires next offseason. That's because the contract actually has three years tacked on. Those years will void, but not until after the franchise tag deadline. 

In other words, Romo has an outrageous amount of leverage. He'll either re-sign or hit the open market and inevitably make a killing. He'll turn 34 next April, but if he can perform in 2013 the way he did in 2012, I guarantee he'll earn a huge long-term deal somewhere. He's a top-10 quarterback, and top-10 quarterbacks hit the open market so rarely that there'll be a high-priced bidding war for Romo.

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With the remaining change left in their piggy bank, the Washington Redskins have come to their senses and made the most important move of their 2013 offseason by re-signing starting tight end Fred Davis to a one-year contract, according to CSN Washington's Tarik El-Bashir. 

Davis missed the majority of the 2012 season due to a torn Achilles, but he was Robert Griffin III's favorite target before that. Replacement Logan Paulsen did a decent job, but wasn't the same receiving weapon Davis is.

The 27-year-old might concern the 'Skins when it comes to the health of his Achilles—as well as his behavior, which has been a red flag throughout his career—but a one-year contract could force him to stay focused while putting forth the expected effort throughout 2013. 

We all know that the key for the Redskins is making life as easy as possible for Griffin, and that's why this move should have been a no-brainer from the get-go. Davis was RG3's primary safety valve during the first seven weeks of the season.

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Two notable developments have taken place in the last 48 hours that have enabled us to actually talk about the Dallas Cowboys' experience on the 2013 free-agent market in article form. Until then, there was nothing of significance to report. 

The Cowboys made a few in-house tweaks in order to free up just enough cash to sign two veteran defenders late in the game, adding depth to a roster that will have to be replenished in April's draft. As a result of those moves, the 'Boys are now left with just enough money to pay an entry-level accountant. 

Let's break down what's been happening in Dallas this month...

I've color-coded two losses with two corresponding replacements. I think going from Dan Connor to Justin Durant in the Sam linebacker spot is an upgrade and replacing safety Gerald Sensabaugh with Will Allen isn't terrible. They have enough depth at linebacker to survive after cutting Connor, but the safety spot is weaker now. 

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At last week's owners meetings in Arizona, Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan offered up some thoughts on how Robert Griffin III could avoid suffering further injury going forward. Few if any of those thoughts put any onus on Shanahan or his staff, even though many believe the longtime coach could have done a lot more to protect his quarterback during his rookie season. 

And so it was interesting that in a statement via text message to ESPN's Trey Wingo, Griffin would only take a share of the responsibility for the crushing way in which his 2012 season came to a conclusion (emphasis added by me):

The obvious takeaway here is that Griffin is suggesting someone other than himself bears partial responsibility for the circumstances that led to him suffering a major knee injury. And he's absolutely correct. 

As Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith points out, both Pardon the Interruption hosts think that Griffin is taking a "direct" shot at Shanahan. And while the shot is actually far from direct, I have a hard time seeing it any other way. 

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It appears the New York Giants are about done with free agency, which is why they're the first NFC East team we're going to wrap up the free-agency period with. New York entered and exited the market with very limited funds, but still found a way to sign seven new players while keeping six unrestricted free agents of their own. 

Before giving you my broad final thoughts on how Big Blue fared, here's a chart breaking down what has happened thus far in March for Jerry Reese, Tom Coughlin and Co.

As you can see, the Giants lost more starters/key role players than they gained, but not by a huge margin. They believe Stevie Brown—who re-signed on a one-year tender—can replace Phillips, while there's a good chance the younger Jacquian Williams can step in for Boley and 2012 first-round pick David Wilson can do Bradshaw's job. 

All of the other replacements have been color-coded to match up with each other on the chart, and none represent major losses. 

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