NFC Notes: Commanders, Cowboys, Daniel Jones, Giants

Commanders

• According to the Athletic’s Ben Standig, the expectation is that Commanders DE Montez Sweat will play out the final year of his rookie deal on the fifth-year option in 2023. 
• Standig notes he’s in line behind DT Daron Payne for a long-term deal. Washington just franchised Payne and will want to figure out his future before moving on to Sweat. 
• Standig mentions team decision-makers are big fans of the cornerback class and think adding another prospect to their secondary could make them even tougher defensively. 
• The other major need is tackle, which would allow the Commanders to move RT Samuel Cosmi inside to guard. Standig points out the team keeps bringing it up which suggests they view him as a better fit inside. 
• The Commanders would like to re-sign LB Cole Holcomb, potentially on a one-year deal, but Standig notes if they’re not able to, it isn’t viewed as a backbreaker this offseason. They have some depth on the roster and will have some options in free agency. 

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones recently gave his input on multiple different issues facing his franchise including RB Tony Pollard, QB Dak Prescott, and new OC Brian Schottenheimer. Jones also says he is not opposed to making a bold move this offseason.

“Don’t dismiss us doing something special with the right veteran free agent,” Jones told Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Any place. I would in a New York minute if I think that it fits a lot of what I’m sitting here talking about if it fits more than a short-term situation for us.”

“Certainly, Tony is a big part of our plans,” Jones said of Pollard. “His injury was problematic but my awareness of the repair that was done is good in terms of being able to not have it alter his contract.”

Jones also recalled the team’s trade of WR Amari Cooper to the Browns for a fifth-round pick. 

“We made that decision for last year’s ability to keep players that helped us and this year’s ability to keep players, and the next year,” Jones revealed. “You (might) say, ‘That’s not addressing the fact that you need that speed on the outside, and you might have had a Super Bowl with that.’ … There are teams that have had players of Cooper’s stature as well as teams that had Cooper himself and they didn’t get any farther than we got in the playoffs. So, we’re sitting here, in my mind, farther down the road about what we get to do tomorrow.”

“When I start seeing something on the field that would logically tell you that you need to start looking ahead, (for example) past Dak, I don’t see that kind of thing happening in the next years, and I say years,” Jones said. “It was hard to move on from Tony (Romo), but Dak was compelling. As one of my ex-coaches said, ‘Coaches dream of what Dak is. Do you see the way that team follows him? Don’t touch that.’ That’s a big part of really my talking about Dak is has that great leadership quality. He has the physical skills to do this at the level to win us a Super Bowl.”

“Dak will keep it alive as long or better than maybe most because he’s got the arm strength,” Jones continued on Prescott. “He really can make the throws. But we really do need to probably have a reconciliation here as to the best way to win the game, not make the play.“That’s not criticizing Dak. It sounds like (I) must be criticizing (former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore) or must be criticizing Mike. No. I’m joining in with everybody else. There needs to be an adjustment made. And we got the guy we can make the adjustment with. He’s got the skills. He’s got the career, tread on the tire, and between him and Mike, they’ve got a Harvard doctor’s degree in how to do it. We want to get all the help around (Dak), but when you have a competitive paid QB, you’re not gonna be able to get the most skill around him. You’re gonna have to pick your spots. It’ll be hard to get to a supporting cast the way he had when he started his career.”

With former OC Kellen Moore moving on to the Chargers, Jones spoke about HC Mike McCarthy‘s decision to replace him with OC Brian Schottenheimer.

“You just see the benefit of osmosis when you are around (Brian),” Jones said of Schottenheimer. “You see that positive (energy). He’s got a lot of enthusiasm. He shows his excitement. He shows his emotion. Certainly, his father was a part of that way too. This isn’t a family hire, don’t get me wrong. But when he came in last year on a consulting basis, I was thrilled to death that we could take advantage of that time for him. He was ideal. Certainly, Mike didn’t even blink as to the help that he needed. It was not hard to see that to be the head coach of the Cowboys plus call the plays, he’s going to have to have some help. Somebody that he can work with and has experience and they have that background of how they work together. That’s fortuitous for us.”

• Jordan Schultz reports that the Cowboys are not expected to release DT Neville Gallimore this offseason.

Giants

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mentions the $45 million a year number Giants QB Daniel Jones and his camp were asking for was based on the fact that Jones outplayed Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and Broncos QB Russell Wilson last year, both of whom make more than that. But as those comparisons didn’t reassure the Giants, Jones’ camp moved away from that. 
• Breer adds New York has had the threat of using two consecutive franchise tags at a two-year payout of $70 million in their back pocket but they haven’t wanted to play hardball and damage their relationship with Jones. 
• Breer’s sense is the gap between the two sides is not unbridgeable, even if it ends up with Jones making more than $40 million a year.