NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Eagles, Redskins

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians said DT Vita Vea is “week-to-week” with an LCL injury in his left knee. 

“Right now, it’s basically week-to-week. Each guy heals differently from those things. It’s just a matter of pain tolerance and fitting a brace, seeing where he’s at,” said Arians, via Greg Auman.

Regarding their offensive line, Arians said their backup unit was “very porous” and must improve going forward. 

“There were times it was good, because their defense got tired, more so than our blocking … it needs to be improved,” said Arians, via Auman.

• Arians mentioned that he’s unsure of third-round S Mike Edwards‘ timeline for recovery after sustaining an injury during practice.
• Arians is hopeful that CB Jamel Dean (hip) will return soon. (Greg Auman)
• According to Arians, S Justin Evans (foot) is “close to returning” and is running at full speed without any pain.  
• Arians admitted that he’s “concerned” about their depth at safety and will likely sign a free agent at the position. (Jenna Laine)

Eagles

Eagles HC Doug Pederson believes backup QB Clayton Thorson‘s struggles in Week 1 of the preseason were due to the quarterback being “nervous and excited” to play. 

“First time out — I’ve been there as a young quarterback, nervous and excited and wanting to do well,” Pederson said, via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And that all stems from — you look at some of the balls he threw a little bit high and a little erratic — it’s just nerves and calming down, and playing in these games. He’ll get better, and he’ll get more reps now [with Sudfeld sidelined] and this will be a great experience for him, to watch this tape and learn from.”

Thorson said he’s “made all those throws about a million times” and is confident that he’ll improve. 

“Nobody wants to go out there and throw an interception, throw the ball over a guy’s head,” Thorson said. “I’ve made all those throws about a million times. Just gotta go out there and set my feet and make the throws.”

• Although Pederson said he would’ve liked to have seen backup QB Nate Sudfeld get more snaps this preseason prior to sustaining a broken wrist, he believes Sudfeld has shown a good body of work over his two years with the team. (Les Bowen)

Redskins

Redskins HC Jay Gruden said he hasn’t determined who is leading their quarterback competition between veteran Case Keenum and first-round pick Dwayne Haskins. 

“I don’t want to make any — come to any conclusions right now,” Gruden said, via ProFootballTalk. “It’s silly to, so there’s still a lot of ball left to be played, lot of passes, lot of things, lot of situational work we still have to do, a couple more games left, three games left. There’s more work to be had.”

Gruden added that he’s hopeful Keenum, Haskins or Colt McCoy will begin to separate themselves in the competition for the starting job. 

“I’m hoping that somebody takes it over,” said Gruden. “That’s what we’re hoping for, but all three of these guys are good players and they’re going to make their share of great throws and great plays. We just have to continue to monitor them and figure out who gives us the best chance at winning against Philly.”