NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Redskins

August 28, 2018

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Jason Garrett said Tuesday that he’s comfortable with Cooper Rush being their backup to Dak Prescott‘s this season and they have no plans to sign a veteran quarterback, despite Rush’s struggles.

“Just his body of work since he’s been with us,” Garrett said, via Pro Football Talk. “He was in that role for us last year and handled it well.”

Ian Rapoport reports that Cowboys C Travis Frederick, who is dealing with Guillain-Barré syndrome, took part in a workout on Monday.
Rapoport says that it’s still too early to tell if he’ll be placed on injured reserve, but one source is cautiously estimated his recovery will be “measured in weeks, not months.“
According to Rapoport, there should be a decision regarding Frederick next week.

Eagles

Eagles HC Doug Pederson said Tuesday that he plans to make a decision by Friday regarding who will be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1.

“Deadline? 90 minutes before the kickoff, I think,” Pederson said, via USA Today.

“Probably Friday, privately,” Pederson added. “Otherwise, 90 minutes (before the game).”

As for WR Alshon Jeffery, Pederson says he’s progressing well: “Well, first of all, he’s doing well in this rehab. He’s working every day. He’s progressed up to about 75 throws a day and really doing a nice job with that. We’re just going to continue to monitor him and we’ll see where he is at next week and make a decision. But right now, he’s progressing well; we just got to see his day by day.”

Giants

Joel Corry reports that Odell Beckham Jr’s new five-year, $90 million extension includes $2.5 million of salary escalators for the 2022 and 2023 season based on at least 96 receptions, 1,374 receiving yards and 12 TD catches in the previous year.
Corry adds that each one is worth $500,000 and both receptions and yards double with the Giants making the playoffs.
A team source tells Corry that Beckham will carry cap figures of $5.459M (2018), $21M (2019), $18.25M (2020), $19.75M (2021), $19M (2022) and $15M (2023).

Redskins

Redskins HC Jay Gruden says that RB Chris Thompson (leg) and TE Jordan Reed (back) are both on pace to be ready for the start of the season.

“Chris looks fantastic,” Gruden said, via ESPN.com. “He’s been great — his pass blocking and obviously his routes, and he’s hitting the hole. He looks great. He’s ready to go. Jordan is getting there. The more he works and more he runs … he had a great day today, just getting in and out of his cuts, getting a feel with [quarterback Alex Smith] and the different formations. He’s on pace to be ready.”