NFC Notes: Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, James Bradberry, Giants

Commanders

• John Keim reports that the Commanders have informed OL coach John Matsko that they will be moving on without him.
• ESPN’s John Keim mentions the current plan is for Commanders RT Samuel Cosmi to shift inside to guard and free-agent OT Andrew Wylie to replace him in the lineup. 
• The Commanders were also interested in keeping QB Taylor Heinicke and the interest was mutual, however, the money he got from the Falcons was more than what was on the table from Washington. (Keim)
• Per Aaron Wilson, LB Cody Barton‘s new deal with the Commanders is one year at $3.5 million and is fully guaranteed including a $1 million signing bonus, $2.5 million base salary, and a $1 million playtime incentive.
• Commanders CB Danny Johnson‘s two-year, $5 million deal includes a $1.75 million signing bonus and base salaries of $1.25 million and $1.49 million. He has $1 million of his salary in 2023 guaranteed. (Aaron Wilson)
• Johnson can also make a $15,000 bonus per game active and $1 million annually with playing time incentives. 

Cowboys

Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch still feels that he has more football left in him and is happy to be returning to Dallas to play under coaches Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn.

“I’m so happy to be coming back to Dallas,” Vander Esch told CowboysSI.com. “One of the big reasons is I just love playing for Dan and Mike. I’ve had three different defensive systems in four years. Me having the same defensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons … I am only going to get better. My best football is ahead of me.”

• Per Todd Archer, Vander Esch’s new deal with Dallas is for two years at $8 million and has a max value of $10 million. There is a signing bonus of $2.5 million, a 2023 base salary of $1.5 million guaranteed, a 2024 base salary of $3 million with $1 million guaranteed, and $500,000 in per-game active roster bonuses each year.
• Ed Werder notes that the team’s willingness to guarantee $1 million in 2024 was what prevented Vander Esch from accepting a deal with the Texans.
• Aaron Wilson reports that Cowboys S Donovan Wilson‘s new deal with the team is for three years at $21 million and includes $13.5 million guaranteed, a $6.6 million signing bonus, salaries of $1.4 million guaranteed, $5.5 million guaranteed, $6.5 million, $14,706 in per-game active roster bonuses from 2023  through 2024, $29,412 in per-game active roster bonuses for 2025, and $1 million in incentives annually for playing time and interceptions.

Eagles

Giants

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer dives inside the Giants’ negotiations with QB Daniel Jones, noting the seeds were planted a year earlier when the Giants declined Jones’ fifth-year option. The move was expected by most people but a source told Breer Jones was “pissed.”
• As the season went along, Jones started to change internal opinions by how he kept up his level of play even without a lot of help at times. Breer notes the Giants internally considered Titans QB Ryan Tannehill and Vikings QB Kirk Cousins as potential comparisons for a deal but when Jones won a playoff game, it raised the ceiling on a potential deal. 
• Once Jones hired a new agent, they began negotiations with the Giants on February 15 and 16. Per Breer, those talks did not go well, as the Giants were caught off guard by the asking price which the agents said would start with a four per year and wouldn’t be 40 million flat. The two sides were able to agree that the situation would play out one of three ways; either with a long-term deal, an offer sheet from another team, or playing out the franchise tag and signing a deal for a bigger number in 2024. 
• The two sides took a break and Jones’ agents worked on a formal proposal which they then sent over to the Giants. The conclusion was that $47 million a year would be a fair price on a new deal for Jones, which Breer writes the team predictably did not respond well to. 
• During negotiations at the Combine, the two sides were able to agree on a four-year length and the Giants came up into the $40 million range while Jones’ camp backed off its initial aggressive guarantee structure. But talks hit another roadblock late in the week, according to Breer. 
• Still, Breer points out the thing that kept everything going was the fact the Giants really did want to work out a deal with Jones and Jones really did want to be in New York. So the two sides agreed to continue negotiations after the Combine in person in New York and persevered even when the Monday before the tag deadline resulted in no progress again. 
• Ultimately Breer says what got the two sides in agreement on a deal with just a few minutes to go until the tag deadline was a compromise on incentives that could push the value of the deal much higher if Jones played like a top-10 quarterback. 
• Per Doug Kyed, Giants DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches‘ contract is for three years, $12 million, and includes a $4.3 million signing bonus, $7.465 million in total guarantees, and a $35,000 workout bonus each year.
• Dan Duggan reports that the team’s deal with RB Matt Breida is for one year at $1.4 million with $500,000 guaranteed. He can also earn up to $1 million in playtime incentives.