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I was kind of surprised it look that long, actually.

There was maybe a two-hour window between the time Monday morning that the news broke about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shopping (and, more likely, cutting) tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. and when people started asking me on Twitter whether he'd make sense for their team. Usually it's quicker than that. But I guess it's a rainy Monday, and maybe folks aren't feeling like themselves. I include myself, of course. Did you catch that Matthew Berry-style column lead up there?

Anyway, in response on Twitter I wrote that you could make a case for any of the four NFC East teams to pursue Winslow, to which four fan bases responded something along the lines of, "Really?", to which I said, "Yeah, really." But the limits of the 140-character Twitter world being what they are, I hereby expand:

Dallas Cowboys

They have been looking, since Martellus Bennett signed with the Giants, for a second tight end to replace Bennett. They drafted James Hanna, but he's not likely the solution right away. The issue here is that Winslow isn't really a blocking tight end, and it might be tough to convince him that he's not among the top options as a receiver.

New York Giants

They signed Bennett, but he only accounts for one of the two holes opened by the ACL injuries of tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum in the Super Bowl. There are reports that Beckum could be ready early in the season, but optimism sometimes gives way to reality, and the Giants may want to have coverage. As is always the case with the Giants, if they're interested, it would have to be for their specific price.

Philadelphia Eagles

There's been talk in Philly for a couple of years about Andy Reid wanting to use more two-tight-end sets. It hasn't come to fruition, but a re-energized Winslow paired with Brent Celek could open up some of those possibilities. Again, though, as in Dallas and New York, he wouldn't be among the top receiving options, given the rest of the talent on the roster.

Washington Redskins

This only makes sense if the Redskins decide to cut Chris Cooley loose for financial or injury reasons. If that happens, they don't have many (any?) real strong tight ends behind Fred Davis. Receiver Niles Paul and even linebacker Lorenzo Alexander have been mentioned as candidates for tight end snaps this offseason, so it's not as though the roster is currently teeming with options should Cooley be cut.

If you've been following along on Twitter (@ESPN_NFCEast), then you know I'm not in love with the Dallas Cowboys' draft to this point. I do not think they have done a good job of maximizing the value of their picks. Obviously, we can't predict how, when or how much any of these guys is going to play, so it remains to be seen whether the guys they're taking are impact guys in the NFL or not. But I don't think their draft, through the first five rounds, shows a strong understanding of the value of the picks. They've also been taking nothing but project guys (other than Morris Claiborne), and for a team that needed a lot of immediate help, I'm not agreeing with that strategy.

But I kind of like their sixth-round pick, Oklahoma tight end James Hanna. I don't know if he can replace Martellus Bennett as their second tight end behind Jason Witten, but he looks the part (6-4, 252) and he has the physical tools, speed and athleticism to succeed in the NFL if he puts in the work and learns what he needs to learn to make the transition. He wasn't a big-time producer at Oklahoma in spite of those skills, however, which makes you wonder, but at this point in the draft the Cowboys could do a lot worse than to find a guy with those kinds of tools at a position of need. Plus, he's a local kid from Flower Mound, Texas, so if he hits it big that's a cool story.

The Cowboys have one more pick -- the 15th one in the seventh round.

The New York Giants drafting for need? Quick, somebody check and make sure death and taxes are still OK.

The Giants love to take the best player available, stressing value and using the draft as a means of building and maintaining a deep roster rather than drafting to fill immediate needs. But they've made four picks now, and each of the four appears to have at least something to do with filling a current roster hole.

The latest was the 32nd pick in the fourth round, which the Giants used to take tight end Adrien Robinson from Cincinnati. Yes, they already signed Martellus Bennett in free agency, but remember, they lost two tight ends to torn ACLs in the Super Bowl, so there was room for another. After using their first three picks on a running back, a wide receiver and a cornerback -- all positions from which they lost 2011 contributors to free agency -- they used their fourth to help fill a hole created by injury.

It's not strictly a need pick, though. Since it's the Giants, it's still a smart value pick. Remember, there was talk during mock-draft season of the Giants taking a tight end such as Coby Fleener or Dwayne Allen in the first or second rounds. But the Giants didn't think taking a tight end that early would have maximized the value of those early-round picks, and it's possible they had their eye on Robinson as a mid-round value pick all along. Robinson has great athletic ability, great speed and great size (6-4, 267) for the tight end position. He may be a project tight end, but the Giants love their tight ends coach and they love the track record their coaching staff and veteran players have of developing draft picks into contributors to championship teams.

It's not that the Dallas Cowboys were terribly sorry to see Martellus Bennett go -- even to the division-rival Giants. The Cowboys had seen enough of Bennett, suffered enough dropped passes and waited long enough for him to make good on what they believed was his vast potential. But Bennet did serve a role, especially in the Cowboys' two-tight end sets, and he has not been replaced. The only two tight ends on the Cowboys' roster are Jason Witten and John Phillips, and it's an area the team still would like to address before the season begins.

They could look for a tight end in the draft, and the middle rounds do offer some options. But they're looking in a number of places. Todd Archer reports that the Cowboys are looking at former Packers and Dolphins tight end Joey Haynos, who appears to be some sort of mountain and could help as a blocker if not a pass-catcher. The Cowboys have plenty of pass-catchers, including Witten, and need a tight end who can help them set the perimeter.

Expect the Cowboys to continue to look at tight end options between now and the draft and possibly even beyond, if they don't get the situation resolved on draft weekend.

We did this for the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, and it only seems fair to keep it up for the other teams in our division (other than the Redskins, whose draft scenarios are too simple to warrant a whole post). Let's look at Todd McShay's latest mock draft and the various scenarios he lays out for the New York Giants with the 32nd pick.

His No. 1 scenario for the Giants is that they take Ohio State tackle Mike Adams at No. 32. If he falls this far, Adams would be the perfect combination of value and positional need -- nearly an ideal pick for the Giants, who could start him at right tackle right away and possibly develop him into a left tackle if things don't work out with Will Beatty over there.

Scenario No. 2 for the Giants, Todd says, would be to "take advantage of value and make a luxury pick for a player such as Stanford TE Coby Fleener or Nebraska OLB Lavonte David."

This is a fun idea, and Super Bowl champions often do find themselves making "luxury picks" because they don't usually have many holes to fill. The Giants, at 9-7, had the worst regular-season record of any Super Bowl champion in history, so it's reasonable to assume they have more holes to fill than have most teams that have picked last in the first round. The good thing in this case is that players like Fleener and David would address specific holes the Giants do have, while also offering excellent value for the pick. Fleener would be a great hedge against the health of Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum (not to mention the as-yet-unrealized potential of Martellus Bennett), and David would add depth to their corps of very young linebackers, increasing the odds that the group eventually produces a starter or two.

And the third and final scenario Todd lays out is that they trade down, taking advantage of some team's desire to move up and pick a quarterback at the tail end of the first round and amassing picks later in the draft. This would be enticing for the Giants, and they're sure to be getting calls late on that Thursday night.

Have you seen what the New York Giants have been up to in free agency? No? Me neither, and I cover the division!

Ah, we kid, we kid. Jokes about the Giants' offseason inactivity are so 2011. It is what it is, as they say in places where Giants fans live, and after the way last season ended, there's no reason to think it's going to change. Those of us who ripped Giants general manager Jerry Reese for not doing enough to improve his team last summer (and yes, of course, I very much include myself) are full to bursting from all the crow we had to eat once Reese's bunch won the Super Bowl. And the Giants' uninspiring list of 2012 free-agent pickups to date -- let's call them Martellus and the Special Teamers -- isn't worth getting worked up over now that even the doubters understand the way the Giants look at the NFL world.

See, the issue last year was that those of us who criticized got caught up in the impatience that defines our times. My point, after watching the Giants stubbornly ignore immediate needs at every level of the draft and do nothing in free agency to address the exodus of seemingly important passing-game targets, was that their philosophy wasn't working. Although it was admirable that they were determined to stick to a plan about which they felt strongly, that plan had produced two straight years without a playoff appearance and was therefore fair game for questioning.

But Reese and the Giants were looking at the landscape more broadly, and that's to their credit. The Giants don't use the draft to address immediate needs. They believe that's a poor use of draft picks -- that rushing to plug a hole with a first-round or second-round pick reduces the value of those picks. The Giants view the draft as a means of building, augmenting and maintaining a deep roster -- the kind of roster that can withstand free-agent defections, plug holes from within and consistently challenge for a playoff spot. The kind of roster that, in the years when it does reach the playoffs, has what it takes to win postseason games and the Super Bowl.

The Giants don't view free agency as some huge shopping mall stocked with all kinds of desirable goodies. Sure, if they see someone they like who plays a position where they need help, they're not above making an aggressive move to get him. Antrel Rolle is a good example from two years ago. Last year, they targeted a center, David Baas, and got him. This year, they targeted a tight end, Martellus Bennett, and locked him up on the first day. But their approach in free agency is measured, focused and patient, and that's the way they believe it should be.

Patience is a hard sell in today's sports culture, where two years without a playoff appearance can feel like an eternity even if the people running the team are the same ones that brought you a Super Bowl title not long before. So last year, the Giants' front office found itself under attack for inactivity. But Reese insisted that inactivity was the right path. The Giants believe in their system, in their coaching staff and in the core of veterans in their locker room. Reese told everyone he'd had a 10-win team in 2010 that missed the playoffs and believed his 2011 team could be better by just enough to get in this time. Lots of us thought he was nuts.

To his credit, at the Super Bowl, Reese declined to accept the accolades. He pointed out more than once that his 2011 team had won only nine games -- one fewer than the previous year's team -- and that he found it funny that somehow he was a genius this time around. Again with the big-picture viewpoint. Reese know there's some good fortune involved -- that if the Eagles hadn't kicked away so many September games or if Miles Austin had caught that pass down the sideline late in the game in Dallas, the Giants very well could have been looking at three straight years without a playoff game. This NFL is a razor's-edge business, and one can do very little to control the placement of that fine line between success and failure.

But what the Giants do is position themselves the best they can to take advantage when fate smiles on them. They don't want their season to ride on the worthiness of a couple of big offseason signings. They don't want their season to rise and fall on the immediate readiness of their first-round draft pick. If the Giants get an opportunity, they want to know they have a roster, driven by gutsy, respected leaders like Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning and Justin Tuck that's deep and talented and experienced and driven enough to spot it and take advantage of it.

That's what last season was. The Giants weren't the best team in the NFL in 2011. For most of it, they weren't even close. But they may have been the toughest. And when the time came for that to matter -- for the toughness and the depth of their roster to deliver -- that's exactly what happened.

So here the Giants are again, sitting idly by while the rest of the league rushes out to grab free agents. Do they have some holes they could fill? Sure they do. Might not filling them cost them a game or two this season? Absolutely. But the Giants know who they are and what they have. And after winning a second Super Bowl title in five years, they feel very good about it. They could win the Super Bowl again next year. They could go 8-8 and miss the playoffs. But these are the Giants, and they know one year won't define them. It's a lesson that a lot of other teams -- and a lot of us who analyze and predict this league -- would do well to learn.

Three weeks until the draft. Given the current state of fan agitation, I estimate our chances of surviving that long at around 21 percent. But they go up if we make sure and get our links.

Dallas Cowboys

In this clip from NFL 32, Cowboys tight end Jason Witten asks our NFL analysts who the Cowboys should take with the No. 14 pick in the draft. Todd McShay says that, if Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox is still on the board, he's the guy they should take. On a related note, Calvin writes that Cox is headed to Valley Ranch for a pre-draft visit.

The Cowboys' official site takes a look at cornerback Mike Jenkins, who was one of the bright spots on the Cowboys' 2011 defense when various injuries weren't limiting his playing time or production. A healthy Jenkins would be an asset in 2012, and if he gets through the season fully healthy, he might be able to that new contract he's looking for.

New York Giants

Speaking of Witten, he has good things to say about former teammate Martellus Bennett and Bennett's chances for success with the Giants.

Travis Beckum, one of two Giants tight ends to tear an ACL in the Super Bowl, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he got great news from his doctors and that there's a "very good chance" he could be ready by the start of the season. If that turns out to be true, it lessens the Giants' need to look for a tight end in the draft.

Philadelphia Eagles

Sheil Kapadia looks at the number of different players on the Eagles' roster who will be affected by the performance of Demetress "Don't Call Me Demetrius" Bell, who's the new left tackle after signing Wednesday to replace the injured Jason Peters. The numbers on how often and how successfully the Eagles ran to the left side in 2011 are eye-opening.

Nnamdi Asomugha, a California guy at heart, has been bicoastal this offseason, showing up in Philadelphia to work out with teammates in preparation for what he and the Eagles hope is a much better second season than his first.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan told the Washington Post that he'd rather "take the high road" than respond to the sour-grape foolishness Donovan McNabb was spouting on First Take last week.

Mark Maske looks at the complicated questions at the heart of the Redskins' and Cowboys' grievance against the NFL and the NFLPA over the salary cap sanctions that were imposed just before free agency.

» AFC Assessments: East | West | North | South » NFC: East | West | North | South

Dallas Cowboys

Key additions: CB Brandon Carr, S Brodney Pool, QB Kyle Orton, FB Lawrence Vickers, LB Dan Connor, G Nate Livings, G Mackenzy Bernadeau

Key losses: WR Laurent Robinson, TE Martellus Bennett, FB Tony Fiammetta, CB Terence Newman, G Kyle Kosier (cut)

"You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're all right": Rather than go big for the biggest names out there, the Cowboys took a more directed, focused approach to free agency this year. They did spend a lot to bring in Carr, but they had a glaring need at cornerback and they believed Carr was the best one on the market. The two guards were specifically targeted by Cowboys' scouts and new offensive line coach Bill Callahan, and Connor was brought in to address a need at inside linebacker while 2011 draft pick Bruce Carter continues to develop.

The only loss that they didn't upgrade is that of Robinson, who signed with the Jaguars after coming out of nowhere to catch 11 touchdown passes from Tony Romo in 2011. The Cowboys will hope that one of the young receivers on their roster fills that No. 3 wide receiver role, or that they can catch lightning in a bottle again this year as they did with Robinson last year. They could miss Kosier's leadership on the offensive line, but he was getting old and injured and they needed to keep getting younger on the line.

What's next: While they'll keep an eye out for a bargain-bin receiver to replace Robinson, and they could try and find another tight end to replace Bennett, the Cowboys' main focus the rest of this offseason is likely to be on defense. They could add to the safety or cornerback mix in the draft or with another free agent. They'll keep looking to upgrade the pass rush, either with another outside linebacker or a defensive lineman. Those are the likely areas in which the Cowboys will focus their efforts in the draft.

Otherwise, it's going to be about sorting things out, especially on the offensive line. They need to find a pair of starting guards from a group that includes the two newcomers and the two youngsters -- David Arkin and Bill Nagy -- they drafted last year. Training camp should help sort out what needs to be sorted out on the offensive side of the ball. The draft will be for adding more pieces to Rob Ryan's defense.

New York Giants

Key additions: TE Martellus Bennett

Key losses: RB Brandon Jacobs, WR Mario Manningham, CB Aaron Ross, T Kareem McKenzie

"Reason to believe": The Giants don't like to make big free-agent splashes, and since they're up against the salary cap they also have little choice. But their second Super Bowl title in five years should help ease any concerns fans might have about if they're doing enough in the offseason. The Giants' way is to establish fair prices for the positions they need to fill and to be patient until they find players willing to play for their number. They'd have loved to have Jacobs or Manningham or Ross back, but not for the kind of money those guys found in free agency. They'd love to have linebacker Jonathan Goff and defensive end Dave Tollefson back, but if they get big-money deals elsewhere, the Giants will let them go too.

They targeted Bennett right away and signed him on the second day of free agency, since they saw in him a young talent at a position where they lost two players to major knee injuries in the Super Bowl. And they re-signed cornerback Terrell Thomas and punter Steve Weatherford, two of their offseason priorities. But since then, the Giants have been quiet, content that they have a good, deep, championship roster and willing to let the market come to them.

What's next: The areas of concern, if there are any for the Giants, are linebacker and offensive line. And if Goff comes back, they like what they have at linebacker with the incumbents and last year's rookies. With McKenzie leaving, they could move David Diehl from left tackle to right tackle, but they'll still need to add depth at tackle as they look to the future on the offensive line.

There remains the chance that the Giants could trade defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who was disgruntled about his contract this time last year and now only has one year to go. If they did that, they could move Mathias Kiwanuka from linebacker back to his old pass-rushing spot on the line. But the Giants would have to be really blown away by an offer to move Umenyiora, who has relaxed a great deal about his contract situation and said he'd like to stay.

Philadelphia Eagles

Key additions: LB DeMeco Ryans (trade), G Mike Gibson

Key losses: DE Juqua Parker, WR Steve Smith, QB Vince Young

"We take care of our own": The Eagles' focus so far this offseason has been internal. They extended the contracts of right tackle Todd Herremans and defensive end Trent Cole, signed wide receiver DeSean Jackson to a long-term deal and re-signed free-agent guard Evan Mathis. The Eagles believe last year's team was a good roster that underachieved, and they basically are taking a mulligan and hoping it works this time.

The one exception is a big one -- the trade that brought them Ryans from Houston in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. The Eagles were pitifully weak at linebacker last year, and that weakness hurt their otherwise successful implementation of the "Wide 9" defensive line formation. They could get to the passer with their front four, but teams were able to attack the middle of their defense at will. The addition of Ryans, a veteran middle linebacker who was a productive tackler and beloved leader with the Texans, should help solve a lot of those problems.

What's next: There remains a strong chance the Eagles will trade cornerback Asante Samuel before or during the draft. They can afford to do so because they'd still be left with Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as starting cornerbacks and the underrated Joselio Hanson at nickel corner. Other than that, the Eagles figure to be fairly quiet the rest of the way.

They're most likely to use their first-round pick on a defensive player, though Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly, who'd be a great addition, now looks likely to be gone by the time they pick at No. 15. So they could pick up another veteran linebacker and use the draft to add to their defensive line rotation. It's also likely they add a veteran safety and a veteran running back to back up LeSean McCoy, who's next in line for a new contract.

Washington Redskins

Key additions: WR Pierre Garcon, WR Josh Morgan, CB Cedric Griffin, S Brandon Meriweather

Key losses: S O.J. Atogwe (cut), S LaRon Landry, WR Donte' Stallworth

"When the change was made uptown and the big man joined the band": The Redskins' biggest move of the offseason was the draft-picks trade they made with the Rams, sending three first-round picks and a second-round pick to St. Louis in exchange for the No. 2 pick in this year's draft. That pick ensures that Washington, which has been looking for a franchise quarterback for a couple of decades, will be in position to take one of the two quarterbacks in this year's draft that projects as a franchise guy. They're most likely getting Baylor's Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner who's got Redskins fans in a tizzy already.

The Redskins' first big moves when free agency opened were aimed at building a new offense for their rookie quarterback to run. Garcon and Morgan are, the Redskins believe, receivers with big-play talent who will fit well into the offense they like to run. The other two big additions -- Griffin and Meriwether -- were brought in to beef up the secondary, which lost its two starting safeties. It's possible Griffin could play safety, though he played cornerback in Minnesota.

What's next: The Redskins continue to try to re-sign veteran linebacker London Fletcher, and they're confident they can do that. They also want to bring back running back Tim Hightower, assuming he's recovered from his ACL injury, and they're in talks with him about doing just that. If they fail in either or both of those efforts, they'll need backup plans, as they'll lack depth at running back and inside linebacker.

Washington still could stand to add to its secondary and find help for the offensive line. Right tackle Jammal Brown has injury problems, and the team is looking for a better option. Demetrius Bell remains on the market and is a player Washington likes for that right tackle spot.

Dallas Cowboys

ESPNDallas.com wants to know whether you're happy with what the Cowboys have done to this point in free agency. They tell you what they think -- Calvin Watkins calls it a success, Tim MacMahon says it's just a start -- but what they really want to know is what you think. So go read, and make sure to vote.

Josh Ellis thinks that the signing of fullback Lawrence Vickers -- especially if the Cowboys don't sign a second tight end or a quality No. 3 wide receiver -- could lead to more I-formation sets on offense in 2012. They had success in 2011 running behind fullback Tony Fiammetta and might look to replicate that with Vickers now that they've lost Martellus Bennett and Laurent Robinson.

New York Giants

Ebenezer Samuel offers some insight into the unusual procedure Ahmad Bradshaw had done to help heal his injured foot. It was not, apparently, a stem-cell treatment. The goal is to stop the foot from continuing to be an issue for Bradshaw throughout the remainder of his career, because as tough as he is, having to endure the pain he endured in 2011 isn't likely to lend itself to a long career at a very physically demanding position.

David Carr, who was a starting quarterback when he arrived in the NFL with the Houston Texans a long time ago, likes being the Giants' backup quarterback. Says it's the best locker room he's ever been a part of.

Philadelphia Eagles

Former Eagles defensive lineman N.D. Kalu, who now hosts a sports talk radio show in Houston, tells Les Bowen that the loss of linebacker DeMeco Ryans to the Eagles is hurting Texans fans more than the loss earlier in the offseason of Mario Williams to the Bills.

Though there is some tinkering left to do and a few additions that are likely to be made to the offseason roster -- a veteran running back, a veteran fullback, a veteran safety, maybe another linebacker or two -- the Eagles feel as though their roster is in fairly good shape right now, in the wake of addressing their biggest need.

Washington Redskins

There will be some competition at wide receiver this year in Redskins camp, Rich Tandler writes, and very little is guaranteed at this point in terms of anyone's role or status in the starting lineup. A lot could depend on health, too, for guys like Josh Morgan and Leonard Hankerson, whose 2011 seasons ended early due to injury.

Josh Johnson was an intriguing backup quarterback possibility, but he's a San Francisco 49er now. I wonder if, when he showed up for his visit on Wednesday in Ashburn, no one was there to open the door for him since they were all in Waco.

I never imagined things would be this slow in the NFC East on the seventh day of free agency. But facts is facts, and since last week ended the facts are that not much has happened. I realized this morning that I didn't even do a "How was your day?" last night because everybody's day was so doggone dull.

But things are never dull in the chat, and we had a fun one Tuesday. Some highlights:

Sean Peters (DC): Hey Dan, what are your thoughts on what the possible departure of London Fletcher could mean for a young Redskins defense?

Dan Graziano: I think it would be a mistake for them to let him go. I know they're getting younger and he's 37 and so that doesn't obviously mesh. But he's a special case. He's like having another coach on the staff -- and one who's actually on the field with the guys during games. I know they love having their young linebackers around him, they love the leadership he brings on the field and in the locker room and that they want to have him back. I still think they'll keep him. As to why they haven't yet, I can't help you.

CP (Brooklyn): Dan, do you think Martellus Bennett will thrive in the Giants' system?

DG: For all the justified abuse Bennett took in Dallas as a disappointment, he was a very good blocking TE. I think he could be a nice pickup for the Giants if he can become a reliable pass-catcher. They don't need him to catch 60-70 balls, but if he can contribute something around 40 and block the way he did in Dallas, I bet they'll be happy.

Peyton (Minnesota): I find it hard to believe that the Cowboys would draft a corner in the first round and he would play the 4th spot with Orlando Scandrick, Mike Jenkins and Brandon Carr already taking the first 3 spots.

DG: I guess, but Jenkins is always hurt and Scandrick's really just a nickel corner. You can't be too deep at that position. The Giants took a CB in the first round last year even though they didn't appear to need one. It's not a terrible idea, if you really like the player.

Alex (Austin): You always repeatedly say you aren't a fan of any NFL teams, but the best in your business (Simmons, Wilbon) openly admit to being homers and it makes their writing more personable and entertaining. Why don't you just embrace a bias towards your favorite team?

DG: Well, I can't make it up. Those guys have favorite teams. I don't. You want me to lie?

Danatio (Philly): Mr Pineapple, Have you heard anything about the Eagles talking to any linebackers? I know there was the Gerald McCoy twitter rumor of Curtis Lofton to Philly, but has anything happened there? Are they thinking their current group will just improve this offseason?

DG: No, I think they'll add. And this might help answer the Fletcher question, too, but the LB market has developed very slowly. Very few linebackers have signed at all, and the ones at the top of the market have yet to find homes. It's not a position teams really prioritize, and the Eagles are smartly waiting to see what develops rather than jumping the market and overpaying.

We do it every Tuesday at noon ET, folks, and all are welcome.

Unless you were in Buffalo, NFL free agency seemed to hit a bit of a lull Thursday. Maybe everybody was watching basketball. Hard to blame them, but come on. I watched a ton of basketball and still managed to spend the day working my tail off for you, my loyal blog followers. I care about you. And it is in that spirit that I feel compelled to ask this question:

How was your day...

Dallas Cowboys?

"Can't talk. Too busy." Yeah, Dallas was another place where free agency was in full swing Thursday. Nothing like the Mario Williams extravaganza up by Niagara Falls, but the Cowboys are grinding it, filling need after need with players they've targeted for their own reasons. Unlike some past years, when the Cowboys could seem captivated by the market's biggest names, they are employing a focused, systematic approach and generally landing the guys they want. Thursday saw them come to terms with inside linebacker Dan Connor, who will help their run defense and allow Bruce Carter more time to develop if he needs it, and safety Brodney Pool, who played for Rob Ryan in Cleveland and likely replaces free agent Abram Elam. That's six unrestricted free-agent signings in two days for Dallas, and the Cowboys were working on a deal with guard Nate Livings, though he was said to be drawing interest from other teams as well. What they do the rest of the way in free agency -- whether they succeed in getting another lineman, another defensive back or more linebacking help -- could determine what they do in the first round of next month's draft. But the Cowboys are having a very productive offseason and addressing many of their myriad needs.

Philadelphia Eagles?

"Kinda slow." Still can't shake the feeling that the Eagles, who I think are still about $19 million under the salary cap, are saving up for something at least somewhat major. Maybe it's a new deal for LeSean McCoy. Maybe it's one or more of the good linebackers still available on the slow-moving linebacker market. Maybe it's for something no one's thought of yet. But the day after signing DeSean Jackson to a long-term contract and clearing much of that cap room, the Eagles sat patiently and made no noise. They'd like to bring back guard Evan Mathis, who played very well for them in 2011, but they seem okay with him testing the market, and he met with the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. Defensive end Juqua Parker left, which was no real surprise, to sign with the Cleveland Browns. But the Eagles' biggest needs are linebacker and a backup running back, and the market doesn't seem to be requiring anyone to hurry to fill either of those positions.

Washington Redskins?

"So-so." They signed safety Brandon Meriweather (and I learned how to spell his name!), a former first-round pick who was cut twice last year and becomes a low-risk, high-reward project for new defensive backs coach Raheem Morris. But they saw Ben Grubbs, in whom they'd be interested for guard, sign with the Saints. And they saw wide receiver Eddie Royal, whom they thought they had signed Tuesday, sign instead with the Chargers. So they're not getting everyone they want. The Redskins do seem to be focused now on offensive line and defensive back (they were scheduled to have Aaron Ross in for a visit Friday), but with Royal out of the picture, watch to see if they look for another speedy wideout who can help in the return game. The biggest looming question for Redskins fans is the status of linebacker London Fletcher, who remains unsigned and on whom there has been almost no buzz. They definitely want him back, but it hasn't happened yet.

New York Giants?

"Blissfully boring." I think the Giants feel about free agency the way Ron Swanson feels about municipal government. They accept that it's there and they have to deal with it, but they don't seem to be very impressed. Sure, they signed tight end Martellus Bennett on Wednesday. But Thursday was dead boring. They agreed to terms with former Redskins safety Chris Horton, a special-teams candidate who was out of the league last year. They had Cowboys receiver/returner Kevin Ogletree in for a visit but did not sign him. While Ross, Mario Manningham, Jonathan Goff and Brandon Jacobs are out shopping for jobs, the Giants are sitting by and waiting things out. Ross and Manningham are sure to find bigger deals elsewhere, and Jacobs is likely to find something as well, the Giants would be fine with either welcoming those guys back at their own price once they strike out or replacing them with cheaper or internal options. It's how they roll, and they believe the Super Bowl trophy they just won after doing very little last offseason validates their approach. They make a pickup or two, but don't expect things to get hot and heavy with the Giants any time soon.

My day? Wonderful. I always enjoy the first day of March Madness, even when my bracket gets crushed and there aren't any big upsets. And I am still energized by free agency and the pace we're all keeping here at ESPN.com to keep you all up to date with it. I'll be up bright and early in the morning again, in case anybody has any questions. But for now, I bid you good night.

Remember Chris Horton? Yeah, me neither. But I was covering baseball in 2008, when Horton had three interceptions in 14 games as a rookie safety for the Washington Redskins. Horton tailed off due to injury in the ensuing seasons and didn't play at all in 2011, but there's something the New York Giants like about him, because he's apparently agreed to a deal with the Super Bowl champs.

Horton's signing is for special teams, but it has something in common with the rest of the Giants' activity since free agency opened -- he comes from a division rival. The Giants already have signed former Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett, and they had former Cowboys wide receiver/special teamer Kevin Ogletree in for a visit Thursday, although it's unclear whether they'll sign him.

Could be pure coincidence, of course. Could be the Giants are intrigued by players they've seen up close. Could be they're looking to sign guys who have inside information on the teams they play twice a year. Could be a combination of any or all of those. Just a little oddity worth pointing out as the Giants make little moves on the fringes of free agency, the way they like to do.

Day 1 of free agency was all about the Redskins around these parts. Day 2 saw the Cowboys get busy and the Eagles make a surprising splash with one of their own players. What does Day 3 hold? All I know is it starts with links.

Dallas Cowboys

Todd Archer offers some examples of reasonable possibilities for Laurent Robinson's replacement, and he barely even scratches the surface. He's right that the Cowboys would have had no business trying to keep Robinson for the money he got in Jacksonville, and his partial list of options proves the key point -- that there will be many names available to the Cowboys as No. 3 receiver options at the level of the market at which they found Robinson a year ago.

The Cowboys signed one guard Wednesday and are bringing in a guy Thursday who's been a regular starter at the position for the past two years. Why two? Well, this post raises the intriguing possibility that Kyle Kosier could move to center, which is where the Cowboys had their biggest problems last season.

New York Giants

Martellus Bennett says he "only played like 30 percent of the snaps while I was in Dallas. I think, in a larger role, I can do so much more. I think the sky is the limit. I don’t think anyone has really seen who I am as a player and what I have to offer." His estimate isn't awful. A quick scan of the ProFootballFocus.com stats shows Bennett played about 42 percent of the Cowboys' offensive snaps over the past four years. His premise, however, is that he can be a great player if he plays more than that. We shall see. Injured tight end Jake Ballard played 75 percent of the Giants' snaps last year, so there's opportunity for Bennett to prove it.

The Giants still might look for another tight end, and old friend Jeremy Shockey wouldn't mind being considered, according to Gary Myers. Hey, don't laugh it off. They brought in Plaxico Burress and tried to sign him last year. Giants management is all about bygones if the value is right.

Philadelphia Eagles

Marcus Hayes writes of the Eagles' efforts over the past few days to lock up their young core long-term, and why it's a rare opportunity they have with a young core that appears ready to win now. His points are all well-reasoned, of course. But a lot of this is going to come down to a 32-year-old quarterback and whether Michael Vick is ready to win now.

Jeff McLane writes that the next big internal move could be a new contract for running back LeSean McCoy. Apparently, talks are under way and have been for a while now, and the sense in Philadelphia is that it could be done in short order. Somebody asked which team in the division is having the best free agency right now. And while I like what all four teams have done so far, you can make a strong case that the answer is the team that's signing its own stars to below-market deals while the market goes bonkers.

Washington Redskins

Robert Griffin III says he's not yet willing to concede that he'll be a Redskin for sure. It appears as though he believes he can still convince the Colts to take him with the No. 1 overall pick. Which, good for him. If I were in that situation and had confidence in my ability, I wouldn't be conceding anything to Andrew Luck. It wasn't Luck who won the Heisman Trophy, remember. Anyway, the Redskins surely don't care. If the Colts took Griffin at No. 1 overall, they'd run to the podium to draft Luck with the second pick. That's why they paid so much to move up to No. 2 in the draft -- so they'd be guaranteed to get one of the two guys in the draft who looks like a franchise quarterback.

With their wide receiver pursuits nearly complete, the Redskins have turned their free-agent attention to defensive backs and offensive linemen. According to this story, that includes a pursuit of free-agent guard Ben Grubbs, who's drawing interest from many teams.

After a day of meeting with the New York Giants in New Jersey, former Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett tweeted a short time ago that he was "officially a New York Giant!!" Bennett deleted the tweet soon thereafter, as he'd done Tuesday night with a tweeted photo he took from a plane as he arrived in the New York area, but ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the deal between Bennett and the Giants will be a one-year, $2.5 million contract once it is, in fact, official.

Good deal for the champs. Yes, Bennett was a disappointment in Dallas. But he's only 25 years old and he's an athlete of considerable physical talent. The Giants are a team that believes very strongly in the ability of its coaching staff and its quarterback to get the best out of players, and if they can get Bennett focused and dedicated, they could have a steal on their hands. If not, the deal appears to come with minimal risk. It doesn't lock them into Bennett beyond this season, and if he doesn't perform, they'll probably have injured tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum back at the end of the year and therefore plenty of options.

The Giants needed a tight end after losing Ballard and Beckum to knee injuries in the Super Bowl, and they got a young, cheap, talented one. We'll see if they continue to address the position in free agency or the draft, but they clearly targeted Bennett, and they got him locked up on the second day of free agency.

You've waited, speculated, hoped and fretted for months, and today it finally arrived -- the start of NFL free agency. It was a busy and hectic day, as it often is, and it's liable to continue into the wee hours of the morning. But for now, as we creep toward midnight, it seems like a good time to stop and ask each of our division's four teams our favorite free-agency question.

So, how was your day? ...

Washington Redskins?

"Exciting." The Redskins were extremely busy right away, agreeing to deals with wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan and working on another for wide receiver Eddie Royal. The fact that they moved so quickly led to industry-wide cries of "Same old Redskins -- champions of March," because there's no more powerful force in the NFL than conventional wisdom. But an actual close look at what they're doing reveals the kind of smart, long-view plan that Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen began working to execute last offseason.

The old, reckless-spending Redskins would not have been outbid for 29-year-old Vincent Jackson, who got $55.5 million ($26 million guaranteed) from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The receivers the Redskins signed will be 26 and 27 years old at the start of the season. And while five years, $42.5 million ($20.5 million guaranteed) is obviously too much for Garcon, who has never been a No. 1 wide receiver, it's what it cost to get him. Shanahan has identified him as a guy who can explode, based on where he is in his career, the way he'll fit in Shanahan's offense and the potential for him to grow along with Robert Griffin III. If Shanahan's wrong, the contract could haunt him. But he's not just throwing money around. Garcon is a guy Shanahan targeted for good, specific reasons. There is a plan here, and it's likely to continue as they work to fill holes on the offensive line and in the secondary in the coming days and weeks.

The Redskins also re-signed Adam Carriker on Tuesday to maintain depth on the defensive line. What Redskins fans would like to see next is a re-signing of linebacker London Fletcher. I believe the Redskins would like that too, but the longer it goes without getting done, the greater the chance the Redskins will lose one of their most valuable defensive players. What's clear is that, in spite of being docked $36 million against the cap for violating some sort of amorphous fake spending limit during the uncapped 2010 season, the Redskins still have plenty of room to work under the cap.

Dallas Cowboys?

"Better than Monday." A day after learning that they'd be docked $10 million against the salary cap over the next two years for the same kinds of bogus violations that nailed the Redskins, the Cowboys set about executing their own plan. They cut Terence Newman and David Buehler and restructured the contracts of Doug Free and Orlando Scandrick -- a combination of moves that bought them about $15.8 million in extra cap room this year. Then, according to Adam Schefter, they brought in free-agent cornerback Brandon Carr, who at this writing seemed likely to sign with Dallas as Newman's replacement as early as Tuesday night. With Cortland Finnegan having signed for five years and $50 million in St. Louis, and Carlos Rogers having re-signed for four years and about $30 million in San Francisco, the market seemed set for Carr, and the Cowboys seemed determined not to let him leave Dallas without a deal.

Schefter also reported that the Cowboys were looking at Kyle Orton, who'd be an excellent veteran backup option for Tony Romo at quarterback. And ESPNDallas.com writes that the Cowboys plan to bring in former Panthers linebacker Dan Connor and former Bears tight end Kellen Davis for visits as well. Connor makes sense because they'll need depth at linebacker and may need more time for Bruce Carter to develop behind a veteran. Davis makes sense as a possible replacement for Martellus Bennett, who's in New York to visit the Giants. So if they get Carr done, they'll have addressed their most glaring need on the first day and are already at work on filling some other important needs. They still need to find offensive line help, and it looks as though they could lose wide receiver Laurent Robinson to the Jaguars or Dolphins, but cornerback was the place for them to start.

New York Giants?

"Productive." The champs began the day by re-signing cornerback Terrell Thomas, which was a priority of theirs, and buying themselves some cap room with the restructuring of the contract of center David Baas. Then they flew Bennett in for a visit, since they need a tight end to replace the two they lost to serious knee injuries in the Super Bowl. Cowboys fans are chuckling at the idea that another team would want Bennett, who earned a reputation as a pass-dropping underachiever during his time in Dallas. But the Giants see a guy who's 6-foot-6, 270 pounds, fast and still just 25 years old. They certainly trust their coaching staff and their quarterback to get the most out of any player, and if they can get him on a reasonable deal, it's certainly worth a shot that he still could transform his remarkable physical talent into reliable on-field production. And if he can't, Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum should be back healthy at the end of the season anyway. It's worth the Giants' time to check on Bennett.

The Giants target guys they like but are otherwise patient, so don't expect to hear much about them and Mario Manningham, Aaron Ross or Jonathan Goff anytime soon. They'll let those guys see what they can get on the market, and if they come back disappointed and willing to sign for the Giants' numbers, they could return. If not, the Giants feel confident they can find replacements.

Philadelphia Eagles?

Wait. That was today? Yeah, the Eagles had a quiet day. They extended Todd Herremans' contract and, as Sal Paolantonio reported, were working on an extension for Trent Cole as well. Part of the reason for the quiet is that the Eagles did a lot of work in free agency last year and expect those players to play better in 2012. Part of the reason is that the position at which they need the most help is linebacker, and the linebacker market hasn't really started humming yet. I still think Fletcher makes sense for them on a number of levels, and I wonder if he's a guy they're quietly targeting to steal away from Washington. We'll see. They won't go as nuts as they did last year, but the Eagles won't stay silent for long.