NFC East Notes: Travis Frederick, Cowboys, Eagles

Travis Frederick

Cowboys C Travis Frederick told reporters that he is on track to return after recovering from Guillain-Barré syndrome and has a final check-in with doctors this week. 

“I’m just glad to be back and be able to write the next chapter in this story,” Frederick said, via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk. “Sort of final check-in to make sure there’s no permanent damage there.” 

Frederick said he is still working on his recovery but feels “really good” with where he is right now. 

“I feel good where I am in the weight room. I’ve come a really long way,” Frederick said. “It’s interesting because there’s three things holding me back now. There’s the return from Guillain-Barré. I had a umbilical hernia repair, so that kind of knocked out my lowers for a while, and I had the shoulder repair, so it knocked out my uppers for a while. So I’m still coming back. I’m a little bit behind in the offseason lifting program compared to everybody else because they started a few weeks before I did, but I do feel really good in both areas of where I am at this point.”

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Jason Garrett said LB Leighton Vander Esch is “making progress” from a pelvic injury but will not practice this week. 

“I think he’s getting better and better,” Garrett said, via ProFootballTalk. “He’s not going to do much this week. He’s working on the side, but he’s certainly making progress.”

Garrett added that Vander Esch can continue to improve in “everything” and believes he’ll gain more confidence with playing time. 

“Like any young player, he’s got to get better at everything,” Garrett said. “As good a job as he did for us, he can be a better run defender. He can be a better pass defender. He can be a better consistent tackler. He can understand what we’re doing and understand what opposing offenses are doing. He needs to just play more snaps to get more comfortable and more confident, but he’s certainly off to a good start.”

Eagles

Eagles WR DeSean Jackson is looking forward to being more of a mentoring presence in his second stint in Philadelphia.

“When I was here, I was young the first time around,” Jackson said via Dave Spadaro of the official team website. “Leaving and really stepping up and being a pro and taking my job seriously — not to say I didn’t take it seriously before — but it took time to grow and just to learn. And where I’m at now, I’m seen a lot, I’ve been through a lot, so I have a lot to give back to the young guys. I have a lot to offer.”