NFC Notes: Cowboys, Commanders, Giants

Cowboys

• Browns WR Amari Cooper on if his former teammate WR CeeDee Lamb is ready to become the Cowboys No.1 receiver: “CeeDee’s been ready. [laughs] CeeDee’s been ready. Again, it’s just about opportunity. I think if Kellen (Moore) decides to feature him, he’s definitely ready to step up. CeeDee is a playmaker.” (Michael Gehlken)

• ESPN and Pro Football Focus listed Cowboys CB Kelvin Joseph as one of their top second-year breakout candidates heading into the 2022 season. 
• They point out Joseph is young and potentially has a high ceiling given he hasn’t played all that much in college and the NFL so far. When he has played, he’s been solid. 

• 94 WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks believes Eagles DT Javon Hargrave may be a surprise trade candidate for the Eagles this offseason, as the team did not extend his contract and the move would open up $12.75 million of cap space for the team.
• An extension would also free up cap space this season but the Athletic’s Zach Berman thinks the odds of that are only 50-50. Philadelphia likes to do in-season extensions, so there may be nothing to the timing aspect, but he points out they’ve drafted a few other younger players at defensive tackle in recent years. 
• Regarding a potential trade for Bengals S Jessie Bates, Berman is doubtful the Eagles would give up the picks and money required, as they haven’t really prioritized the safety position. 
• Berman mentions Eagles RB Boston Scott as a potential surprise cut candidate. 

Giants

Giants GM Joe Schoen says that his chemistry with HC Brian Daboll gives the team a boost as they head into training camp.

“When the combine was coming up, we would have probably had to spend an hour in a meeting talking about, ‘Here’s how the process is going to be, how we’re going to interview guys, here’s how draft meetings are going to go,’ ’’ Schoen said, via Paul Schwartz of The New York Post. “Training camp’s approaching, how are we gonna do things? What I’ve learned having worked with Daboll is, ‘Hey are we gonna do this the way we did it in Buffalo? Are we gonna do it how we did it in Miami?’ And there’s a lot of synergy there, we’re on the same page with a lot of that stuff. That part’s been easy.’’ 

“I told Daboll, a year from now he’s gonna be a better head coach and I’m gonna be a better general manager,’’ Schoen said. “To me, the biggest thing is there’s no manual for this job. There are issues that arise on a daily basis that you just can’t plan for and it’s good having a guy like Daboll that I can rely on and we’re in synch, there’s a lot of synergy between the two staffs that we come together, we talk about whatever the issues are and then figure out what the best path is to solve the problem if it’s a problem or whatever it may be. That’s probably the biggest thing, every day is a new day and there’s a lot of things you can’t prepare for.’’ 

“It’s been a good five, six months here and we’ll see when we get into the heat of the season when the real bullets are flying,’’ Schoen added. “Again, we’ve been through that before so I think that will help us too when we’re going through it.’’