NFC Notes: Cardinals, Cowboys, Lions, Rams

Cardinals

• Cardinals HC Bruce Arians said he is comfortable with backup QB Blaine Gabbert playing and believes he could potentially become the long-term starter if he continues to play well: “Short-term, I’d be very comfortable if he had to play for us. Long-term, if he continues at this rate, he could be a starter.” (Mike Jurecki)

Cowboys

• Adam Schefter reports that Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott‘s appeal of his six-game suspension is scheduled to last through Thursday.

Lions

• Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press mentions that the Lions decision to lock up QB Matthew Stafford opens the possibility that they could use their franchise tag on DE Ziggy Ansah next year.
• Tagging Ansah next year would cost the Lions roughly $18 million, and while that’s a large commitment for Detroit to make, Birkett believes it might make more sense for them to go with a pay-as-you-go approach, given that he’s a 28-year-old defensive end.

Rams

Despite the ongoing holdout, Rams GM Les Snead still isn’t ruling out Aaron Donald playing in Week 1.

“If you get him in this week, the goal would be for him to play a lot over the course of a 16-game season,” Snead said, via ESPN.com. “So if you figure out that it’s best to play a lot less Week 1, then that’s the best thing to do.”

According to Snead, the team has tried to come up with “creative scenarios” to get a deal in place with Donald.

“It’s a unique situation in that you have a player, and there is no, per se, finite end date in terms of the contract expiring,” Snead said. “It’s still a ways away, so, that’s what we’re trying to do.”

• Snead added that the team wants Donald to return as soon as possible: “We still want Aaron, want him to be here as soon as possible.” (Lindsey Thiry)