NFC East Notes: Eagles, Giants, Redskins

Eagles DB Avonte Maddox played a critical role for the team last year in his rookie season. He did a little bit of everything, bouncing between corner, safety and nickel back, reminding Eagles DC Jim Schwartz of another player he used to coach.

“He reminds me of Cortland Finnegan,” Schwartz said via NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt. “I had ‘Finny’ early, first couple years in his career in Tennessee. Came in and played nickel, and then moved outside to corner. Could switch back and forth. He was a good tackler. He had speed. Similar size, toughness. Finnegan didn’t play safety for us, but he played safety in college, so he had a lot of those same kind of attributes … and one of his strengths is he can play so many positions. I don’t look at it as a problem with Avonte. We’ll figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us, over the course of his career, but that flexibility is very helpful from a defensive standpoint.” 

Giants

• The NY Daily News’ Pat Leonard examines the decision the Giants will have in a few years when RB Saquon Barkley is eligible for a contract extension. 
• The Giants can start extension talks with Barkley after the third year of his rookie deal is complete following the 2020 season. New York has control of Barkley’s contract through the 2022 season with the fifth-year option for first-round picks, and potentially longer when factoring in the franchise tag. 
• Leonard says to pay attention to RB Le’Veon Bell as a case study for Barkley. Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets after sitting out the 2018 season to force his way out of Pittsburgh. 
• Leonard also says the resolution of Rams RB Todd Gurley and Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott‘s contract situations, along with if Barkley can stay healthy despite a likely high workload, will factor into how the Giants approach his contract. 
• NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo, via Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko, believes the Giants will start first-round QB Daniel Jones in Week 7 at home against the Cardinals if the team gets off to another slow start under QB Eli Manning. 

Redskins

• Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post, via Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko, believes if the Redskins start the season poorly, first-round QB Dwayne Haskins could make his first start in Week 4 on the road against the Giants.