NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Redskins

Cowboys

Cowboys WR Amari Cooper said his ankle and foot injuries are “healing up” and feels healthy enough to play. 

“They’re healing up,” Cooper said, via ProFootballTalk. “I’m healthy enough to go out there and perform.”

Cooper feels he’ll be able to play in Week 5 if he is “75 percent” recovered from his injuries. 

“It depends on where I’m at. You know what I’m saying?” Cooper said. “If I’m like 75 percent, which I haven’t been since Week One. I’ve always been over that. So I think I’ve always been good enough to go out there and do my job.”

• According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, both Cowboys starting OTs Tyron Smith and La’el Collins missed their second straight day of practice. While Smith is not expected to play, Dallas believes Collins will be able to go.
• Dallas should also get WR Michael Gallup and DT Tyrone Crawford back from injury on Sunday. 
• Cowboys DE Demarcus Lawrence has a bruised heel among various maladies, though the heel is causing him the most trouble at the moment. (Michael Gehlken)

Eagles

Eagles ST coach Dave Fipp has had his eye on second-round RB Miles Sanders as a kickoff returner since the Eagles brought him in. However, Sanders’ other duties on offense limited how much Fipp could use the rookie until injuries pressed him into return duty the past two weeks. He responded with a long kickoff return that sparked the Eagles from a 10-0 deficit on Thursday night to rally to a win. Fipp hopes that’s enough to keep Sanders on his return unit.

“I think we’ve kind of felt like from a personnel standpoint — from our perspective — that he was kind of our best option going in,” Fipp said via NJ.com’s Mike Kaye. “He’s also got some other roles, so at the end of the day, we’ve got to balance out all of those things.”

• According to NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt, the 49ers re-signing WR Jordan Matthews should qualify the Eagles for an additional compensatory pick, potentially a fifth-round pick for the loss of WR Golden Tate.

Giants

• Per the Athletic’s Dan Duggan, Giants HC Pat Shurmur says the team will bring RB Saquon Barkley back “as quickly and as smartly as possible.”
• Shurmur added that Barkley playing Sunday against the Vikings was still not outside the realm of possibility. 

Redskins

Redskins HC Jay Gruden defended his reasons for not declaring first-round QB Dwayne Haskins their official starter going forward and doesn’t think sitting for a year will hinder Haskins’ development. 

“Throughout the history of the NFL, there are guys who are more ready to play early, and there are guys that need a year or two. That depends on the player,” said Gruden, via JP Finlay of NBC Sports. “It should not hinder his development whether he gets thrown out there and doesn’t perform up to speed or whether he sits for a year and learns the system and continues to see how to prepare. It’s not the end of the world if he doesn’t play another snap. If he starts every game and doesn’t do very well, it’s good experience for him. You can argue both sides of the coin here. No matter what we do with him, we’re going to be wrong, so it doesn’t really matter.”

As for their upcoming game against the Patriots, Gruden said their gameplan likely will adjust on the fly during Week 5. 

“We can prepare for a lot of things, but I don’t know that we’ll know exactly what we’ll get until we get out there,” said Gruden, via John Keim.

• According to NBC Sports’ JP Finlay, Redskins QB Case Keenum returned to practice without the walking boot on Thursday. 
• Redskins third-round rookie WR Terry McLaurin was limited with a hamstring injury. (John Keim)