NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins

Cowboys

• Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed that RB Ezekiel Elliott is “late” to training camp and is officially a “non-report” that can be subject to fines per the CBA. (Adam Schefter)
• Jones claims to be unconcerned about the Elliott holdout: “This does not in any way diminish my excitement for this team.” (Adam Schefter)
• A source tells Calvin Watkins that the Cowboys had talks with Elliott’s agent last night.
• Jerry also mentioned that he wants Jason Garrett to be the Cowboys’ head coach for as long as he can spell it. Jones added that he doesn’t have an exact requirement for Garrett to continue being head coach beyond this season. (Jon Machota)
• As for suspended DE Randy Gregory, Jones said he met with him on Thursday: “As hard as he’s working, I think he’s got a chance to come in and make a big contribution for us.” (Jane Slater)
• Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said the organization has had talks with Elliott’s agent. (Calvin Watkins)
• Jones expects to get a deal done with WR Amari Cooper “for sure.” (Adam Schefter)

Eagles

Eagles’ veteran RB Darren Sproles said he had contract offers from the Saints and Chargers before deciding to re-sign with Philadelphia. 

“I love this organization,’’ said Sproles, via Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We’re like a family here. From the locker room to the front office to the fans, once you’ve been here, you don’t want to go anywhere else.’’

Sproles mentioned his wife and kids convinced him to return to the NFL for one more season. 

“My wife and my kids said, ‘You still love this game. You might as well [play for] another year, so you can be satisfied.’ That meant a lot to me.’’

Redskins

On Friday, Redskins HC Jay Gruden downplayed the notion that hosting free agent LT Donald Penn was due to Trent Williams‘ holdout.

“It’s not so much because of Trent, with Geron [Christian], we’re keeping [him] out a bit as well, so we’re short tackles now,” Gruden said, via Pro Football Talk. “So we need another tackle. You know, the young tackles out there, really, there aren’t very many of them out there, so you might have to go the veteran route — [we] talked to a few guys. There’s a few other guys we might talk to here in the future, just for the depth-wise. Right now, we’re at 12 offensive linemen that are practicing and that’s way too short right now into training camp.”