NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Redskins

Cowboys

Mike Fisher reports that Cowboys WR Amari Cooper is dealing with a plantar fascia irritation but it is considered a minor issue. 

“Bottom line is he’ll be fine,” said Fisher’s source. 

Cowboys HC Jason Garrett said Cooper’s injury is not long-term and the team wants to be cautious with him right now. 

“We don’t think this is a long-term thing. But we just want to be deliberate in bringing him back,” said Garrett.

• Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he doesn’t have a problem with Cooper, Dak Prescott, or Ezekiel Elliott‘s contract negotiations carrying into the regular season and each of their agents have also not ruled out continuing discussions. (Jon Machota)
• Jones said Prescott’s negotiations have not become an issue with his quality of play: “I think we’re in great shape. His contract is not an issue as to playing, frame of mind, what we’re going to be doing this year.” (Machota)
• Jones mentioned he is not concerned about Cooper’s heel injury: “By all accounts, we should have him back out there pretty soon.” (Machota)
• Regarding Elliott’s holdout during training camp, Jones said he is in “great shape” but they must be ready to play without him: “In the meantime, we have to be ready to go without him, and we’re getting that way.” (Machota)
• Cowboys LB Jaylon Smith will be a restricted free agent following the 2019 season. After the team took a chance on him in the second round following a severe knee injury, Smith says Dallas is the only place he wants to play: “I want to be a Cowboy. I want to be a Cowboy for the rest of my life. Understanding what they’ve done for me, taking a chance, taking a risk. Now they’re getting the return on their investment. It’s a beautiful thing to be a Dallas Cowboy.” (Machota)

Eagles

• 94WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks writes that one complication in a potential Eagles trade for Texans DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney is that he would take snaps away from either DE Brandon Graham or Derek Barnett. 
• However, Shorr-Parks says Clowney would instantly become the most established pass-rusher on the roster, and at the age of 26 could still be extended long-term. 
• The Eagles currently have $20 million in cap space which is enough to absorb Clowney’s $16 million franchise tag, however, it does make potential negotiations on an extension for Clowney next season more difficult, as the Eagles have only $5.5 million in projected cap space for 2020. 
• Shorr-Parks expects Clowney to be available in a trade for as little as a second or third-round pick given the Texans lack of leverage. Houston could also be interested in Eagles G Halapoulivaati Vaitai, though Vaitai is a crucial backup on the Eagles’ offensive line. 
• According to Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice, the four-game suspension for Giants WR Golden Tate is unlikely to affect the Eagles projected fourth-round compensatory pick they stand to gain from his departure. 
• Tate’s suspension costs him salary that could affect the level of the compensatory pick, but Kempski says the Eagles would still be in line to receive a fourth from the loss of LB Jordan Hicks. 

Giants

Giants co-owner John Mara acknowledged the talent drain from the Giants this past year could be seen as alarming. The Giants traded WR Odell Beckham and DE Olivier Vernon to the Browns and didn’t put much, if any, energy into trying to keep S Landon Collins, who signed with the Redskins. All three are Pro Bowl players, but Mara says despite that, the team’s results the past few years speak for themselves. 

“You don’t like to see all of that talent go out the door,” Mara said via Newsday’s Tom Rock. “But let’s face it, we’ve had one winning season, 2016, here and the other five or six years have not been so good since we won that last Super Bowl. So we needed some drastic changes.”

• Dan Duggan notes that the Giants will receive cap credit for the guaranteed portion of WR Golden Tate‘s base salary due to his four-game suspension. 
• Joel Corry of CBS Sports also mentions that the Giants will recoup $1,229,412 in total, which includes $464,706 of his base salary, $558,235 of his signing bonus, and $176,471 of his roster bonus. 
• Tate said he believes the drug he tested positive for, clomiphene, is one of the drugs NFL players can receive an exemption for if they apply ahead of time and notify the NFL and NFLPA. (Pat Leonard)
• At this point with his appeal denied, Tate is resigned to the outcome: “I have no problem accepting the punishment. Ultimately, I’m responsible for what’s put in my body. The tough thing I’m dealing with is I’m letting down a lot of people — my family, the guys in the locker room, the people in the organization.” (Dan Duggan)
• Giants HC Pat Shurmur said he believes Tate’s explanation and the suspension is what it is and the team will move on. (Duggan)
• Giants first-round QB Daniel Jones wasn’t surprised by Mara’s comments on Tuesday that in an ideal world he wouldn’t play at all his rookie season: “Like I said, I think my job is to do what I can to improve, to make sure I’m taking the right steps to make sure the offense is moving forward to the extent I can help it.” (Matt Lombardo)

Redskins

If it was Redskins RB Adrian Peterson‘s job to pick the team’s starting quarterback, the veteran runner would go with another veteran: Colt McCoy. The veteran has spent the most time in HC Jay Gruden‘s offense of the trio vying for the Redskins starting job, including veteran Case Keenum and first-round rookie Dwayne Haskins, though most of that experience has come as a backup.

“I feel like Colt, obviously, has the edge because he has the knowledge and ability as well,” Peterson said via Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post. “He’s been shown to have a really strong arm and been consistent as well.”

• Gruden says RB Derrius Guice has “looked good” during practice but the second-year player will have to wait to be cleared for game action: “The first thing and foremost is when the trainers and doctors say he can go full contact, he’ll go. Once I get that OK, we will make that decision.” (Ethan Cadeaux)