NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said Dak Prescott‘s looming long-term extension negotiations remains the “elephant in the room” for the organization. 

“Dak, obviously, is the elephant in the room,’’ Jones said, via David Moore of the Dallas Morning News. “Everyone knows it. We’ve just got to keep grinding.’’

Jones said the structure of Prescott’s sizeable contract presents obvious financial challenges and their front office is determining how much cap space they can “allocate to one player.” 

“Jerry [Jones] has always told me, as a mentor of mine, as the money gets bigger, the deals get harder,” Jones said. “Obviously, when we’re talking about Dak, it’s as big as it gets in the NFL. So, it’s got to be right for Dak and it’s got to be right for us. It’s a zero-sum game for Jerry and I. We’re just dividing up cap space. Whatever we do here is just a matter of how much we want to allocate to one player.’’

Eagles

The Eagles didn’t have the accustomed high level of play they’re used to from the interior defensive line in 2019. A Lisfranc injury ended DL Malik Jackson‘s season before he really got going and DT Fletcher Cox had just 3.5 sacks as he worked his way back into elite form from a playoff injury in early 2019. Philadelphia likely would have improved just by doing nothing and getting those two back healthy but the Eagles went out this offseason and stacked strength on strength by making DT Javon Hargrave their top free-agent signing. 

“Yeah, on paper right now we look great,” Jackson said via Dave Spadaro of the team’s website. “We have to get the defense down, learn the technique, and stay healthy. The team that stays healthy is going to win it all. It’s a great room. Hargrave, he’s a great player. For me, I want to contribute. I want to get all the way healthy and stay that way and show everybody what I can do.”

• Cox played just one season with new Eagles CB Darius Slay at Mississippi State, but the two have enough of a relationship that Cox could pitch Slay on the benefits of being traded to Philadelphia: “I just told him, ‘If you want to win, come to Philly. I said we win around here, we do things different around here.” (Mike Kaye)
• Cox also expects to take on a larger leadership role with S Malcolm Jenkins no longer with the team: “I just got to continue to raise the bar for myself. Obviously, we lost Malcolm. He was a great guy in the locker room, a great guy on the field and a great guy for the city of Philadelphia. But, we’ve got to understand that it’s a business. For me, myself, I’ve got to keep raising the bar. The guys know that I’m a leader and I’m there if they need me. I’m not a big rah-rah guy … but I like to lead by example.”

Giants

Giants HC Joe Judge confirmed he’s talked with LB Markus Golden about coming back to New York. The Giants placed the rarely-used unrestricted free agent tender on Golden, which allows other teams to sign him away with no compensation as long as they offer more than 110 percent of his salary last year, which comes out to a little over $4 million. If Golden doesn’t sign by mid-July, he can only negotiate with the Giants. 

“I have a lot of respect for him as a person, he’s a hard worker, and a good player,” Judge said via NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo. “He’s a productive player. He’s definitely someone we spoke to, in terms of adding him to the roster.”