NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins

Cowboys

Cowboys LB Jaylon Smith tells Clarence Hill that he no longer needs the ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) brace for drop foot.

“Getting that flexion back is going to help tremendously — speed, quickness, explosiveness,” Smith said. “I have been feeling great. Everything is about getting back to 100 percent. Every day I am improving.”

Cowboys DC Rod Marinelli explained that they will use more nickel than dime on third downs this year, which means there could be some changes to Smith’s specific role.

“There’s a lot of reps to rotate those guys in,” Marinelli said. “It will be kind of a different role for him a little bit, but Jaylon can do that in a heartbeat, and so can the other guys. But you just don’t want to give him too many things to think about right now.”

Eagles

• Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice reports that Eagles DE Derek Barnett underwent sports hernia surgery shortly after the season concluded.
• A source tells Kempski that Barnett is expected to miss six weeks, and the procedure should make that area of his body stronger.

Redskins

• Rich Tandler says that the Redskins didn’t want to spend big money on a guard, but by doing so, they may have left themselves too weak at the position following the loss of Arie Kouandjio.
• According to Tandler, the Redskins are expected to receive four compensatory picks.
• As of now, Tandler has 20 spots on the Redskins’ defense that he considers to be locks, which would leave around 12 players to compete for just four to six spots this summer.