NFC Notes: Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Commanders

Things haven’t worked out with either of Commanders QB Carson Wentz‘s prior two coaches. But both Colts HC Frank Reich and Jaguars HC Doug Pederson still are highly complimentary of Wentz and what Washington is getting in its new starting quarterback. 

“They’re getting a player who, first of all, is a highly intelligent player, who can process a lot of information quickly,” Reich said via the Athletic’s Ben Standig. “They’re getting a guy who, physically, is a prototype NFL quarterback. They’re getting a guy who, I think, can be a top-10 quarterback. I really believe he can be a top-10 quarterback. That’s not just a given. That has to be earned and proven, so we’re all hoping that happens for him.”

“They’re getting a tremendous leader, they’re getting a really good quarterback, they’re getting a guy that’s going to lead that football team, and he’ll lead that locker room,” Pederson added. “He’s going to do everything on and off the field to help that team win.”

Pederson and Reich both coached Wentz with the Eagles and Reich banged the table for the Colts to trade for Wentz last year. Those two men know Wentz as well as anyone in the league, yet both situations ended up souring. The Commanders obviously feel good about the research they did, however. 

“You’ve got to look at the total situation there, and we did a lot of investigation of what happened in Philly and what happened in Indy and had really good talks with Frank. Frank’s a former teammate of mine,” Commanders GM Martin Mayhew said. “I know he’s talked a lot with (Rivera), and I talked a lot with Chris Ballard about the situation there. We felt very comfortable.”

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that the team opted to spend the money owed to WR Amari Cooper to benefit other areas of the team.

“We made a decision that that allocation should be better spent,” Jones said, via PFT. “We made every effort to do as well as we can do with the trade.”

Cooper was being paid as one of the top wide receivers in the NFL, though his production didn’t match up to his contract.

“We have to make sure that any one of those players are pulling as much weight as you can,” Jones said. “No. 2, you’ve got to be judicious how you add a top 10-paid player.”

The Cowboys used some of the money they saved by trading Cooper to re-sign WR Michael Gallup. Gallup is still recovering from a torn ACL and his status for week 1 is still up in the air according to Jones.

“Optimistically, I expect (Gallup) to give us a question mark around the first game,” Jones said. “And I see a conversation that says conservatively, you would like to have a couple more games to get him out there.”

Eagles

• Eagles HC Nick Sirianni has high hopes for the handful of young corners on the roster going into 2022, which includes Zech McPhearson, Tay Gowan, Mac McCain and Kary Vincent Jr. (Zach Berman)
• The Eagles re-signed DE Derek Barnett for two years at $14 million, including base salaries of $4.5 million and $7.5 million. There’s also a $1.12 million base salary in 2024 but that’s basically a dummy year, with more void years on the end. (Jeff McLane)
• Barnett’s 2022 base salary is guaranteed, with $3.5 million of his 2023 base guaranteed for injury and $1.5 million of that fully guaranteed. The remaining $2 million becomes fully guaranteed on the third day of the 2023 league year. 
• Sirianni on Barnett: “Derek Barnett is everything that embodies what we want in the characteristics of a player. He’s tough, he’s competitive, he’s got high football IQ, he’s got high character, he loves football. Man, I love Derek Barnett.” (Berman)
• Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie had high praise of QB Jalen Hurts: “[He’s a] young, 23-year old playoff QB who gets better every year.” (Eliot Shorr-Parks)
• Eagles S Anthony Harris‘ one-year, $2.5 million deal includes a $2 million salary with $1 million being guaranteed. He can earn up to $500,000 in per-game active roster bonuses and $500,000 in playing-time incentives. (Aaron Wilson)
• The Eagles had an individual workout for Purdue DE George Karlaftis at his Pro Day. (Wilson)

Giants

Giants owner John Mara said that he hasn’t spoken with Patriots HC Bill Belichick and has no idea how the coach would have known the franchise was hiring Brian Daboll as their new head coach over Brian Flores.

“I haven’t spoken or communicated with Bill since we played them in the preseason last summer,” Mara said, via the New York Daily News, “And to my knowledge, nobody in our organization communicated with him.”

• Giants WR/KR Richie James‘ one-year, $1.065 million deal includes a $100,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $965,000. He can earn up to $300,000 in catches, punt return average, and kick return average incentives. (Aaron Wilson)