NFC Notes: Commanders, Cowboys, Giants

Commanders

NFL’s Brian McCarthy issued the following statement saying the league is investigating former Washington employee Tiffani Johnston‘s claims into workplace harassment.

“The NFL is reviewing and will consider Ms. Johnston’s allegations as we would any other new allegations regarding workplace misconduct at the Washington Commanders. We will determine any further action as appropriate. Today’s testimony underscores that all employees deserve a workplace that is free from harassment of any kind and where they feel safe reporting misconduct We are grateful to the witnesses who again demonstrated courage by sharing their painful experiences.”

Tisha Thompson of ESPN reported Friday that documents released by the congressional committee investigating the NFL show that the league may not be able to publicly release the findings of its internal investigation of the Commanders without the explicit permission of owner Daniel Snyder.

The House Committee for Oversight and Reform also released a second document that shows the team requested a “written investigation” from Beth Wilkinson’s law firm when she was hired to conduct an internal investigation of the team.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell previously stated that the league cannot release the internal investigation because Wilkinson presented her findings orally.

“Regarding today’s letter from the Committee to the NFL, neither Mr. Snyder nor the team has ever done anything to block the Committee from receiving any documents it has requested from the NFL that are not expressly protected by attorney-client privilege or attorney work product,” Snyder’s attorney Jordan Siev said in a statement. “Finally, all remaining non-privileged emails are being provided to the Committee shortly.”

“To date, we have shared nearly 80,000 pages of documents and made many others available for the Committee to review, in addition to responding to questions from the Committee, both in writing and in the course of numerous discussions,” the NFL spokesperson said.

Cowboys

Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones talked about the issues the team is facing this offseason during media appearances, saying that he wants to retain OC Kellen Moore and several players on the team but knows there are no guarantees. 

“We certainly want to keep Moore,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “But the great news is that Mike McCarthy is an offensive football coach. He called plays for Super Bowl teams and championship teams, so it gives you a little more safety net if you will. We’re not going to be able to keep everybody we’d like to keep. That’s part of it. The cap is a real thing.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hopes that DE Randy Gregory will be willing to work with the team this offseason and also spoke about what type of offensive linemen he would look at during the Senior Bowl.

“Knowing our time together,” Jones said of Gregory. “And some of the pluses and some of the times that we’ve had to work through some of the not-so-fun things, that will serve us well.”

“We’re looking for players that have position flex,” Jones said about linemen at the Senior Bowl. “We’re looking for players that can block a zone, can block gaps. We want players that are capable of doing any technique and any offensive line design that the coaches want to do. But the idea being, a player that can do more than one thing, and then it’s up to the coach to not ask them to do more than they’re capable of.”

Giants

• Former Dolphins HC Brian Flores alleges that back-channel conversations influenced New York’s head coaching search: “It was clear to me (Giants) decision was made with (Belichick) influence. That’s part of the problem. That needs to change. There needs to be a fair and equal opportunity to interview and showcase your abilities.” (Joe Schad)

• Dan Duggan reports that the Giants didn’t submit an interview request for Bills OC Ken Dorsey, knowing that it was unlikely he would leave Buffalo.
• Jeff Howe reports that there isn’t much concern over Giants QB Daniel Jones‘ sprained neck ligament and that he should be ready for so he should be fine for offseason workout programs.
• Ralph Vacchiano lists 12 potential cap casualties that Schoen may have to make a decision on this offseason, including LB Blake Martinez, CB James Bradberry, WR Kenny Golladay, WR Sterling Shepard, DB Logan Ryan, TE Kyle Rudolph, P Riley Dixon, RB Devontae Booker, C Nick Gates, S Julian Love, WR Darius Slayton, and TE Kaden Smith.
• ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports the Giants are hiring Laura Young to be a director of coaching operations, making her the first woman on the team’s coaching staff.