NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

• Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that “there is belief” around the NFL that the 2021 salary cap could remain “fairly flat” even if the 2020 season is entirely lost. This comes after NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said he expects a “$3-plus billion impact” on revenue for the league in 2020 due to the pandemic. 
• Regarding Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, Gehlken points out that the NFL’s 11-year CBA stability allows him to “wade more comfortably” given a $31.4 million franchise tag is currently on the table.
• Gehlken points out that Prescott could play out the 2020 season under the tag and “pending force majeure clause adjustments,” which would revisit contract negotiations in 2021.
• Should Prescott not finalize a long-term deal following 2020, Gehlken believes the Cowboys would likely tag him again at around $37.7 million.
• An NFL general manager told Gehlken he believes it’d be “difficult” for either the Cowboys or Prescott to get an extension done at the present time: “I think it’s difficult for either side to get something done.”

Eagles

• The Eagles are reportedly on the list of teams disgruntled Jets S Jamal Adams would like to play for. 
• Mike Kaye of NJ.com writes that while Adams would be a significant upgrade for the Eagles, trading for him would create long-term financial issues and cost them a lot in terms of draft compensation.
• As of now, the Eagles are projected to be $50 million over the cap entering the 2021 season. Kaye says an Adams’ trade is an unlikely scenario for the Eagles.

Giants

The Giants dusted off a rarely used mechanism in the NFL rulebook to place an unrestricted free agent tender on LB Markus Golden. The veteran pass rusher signed with New York last year on a prove-it deal and was looking to cash in big in free agency after recording 10 sacks, eyeing a deal worth at least eight figures. But the UFA tender would bring Golden back to New York for 110 percent of his 2019 salary, $4.1 million if he doesn’t sign with another team, and if he’s still unsigned by July 22, he can only negotiate with the Giants. New HC Joe Judge said he’s hopeful Golden will be back. 

“Obviously, we put the tender on him so we’re interested in him. I have a lot of respect for him as a player and as a person,” Judge said via the Athletic’s Dan Duggan. “We’ve put the tender on him because we’ve expressed our interest or intent for him to be able to join our roster. I don’t know how fast things may or may not move.”

Another uncertainty facing the Giants as they enter the 2020 season is how the two starting tackle jobs will shake out. New York returns veteran OT Nate Solder and spent the No. 4 overall pick on OT Andrew Thomas. Figuring out who starts on the left and who starts on the right, as well as who the backups are, will be key for Judge once training camp starts. 

“We’re going to cross-train a lot of guys on both sides, left and right, and we’re going to give it a little bit of time in training camp until we really narrow down and identify where the pieces fit best for the team,” Judge said. “We have multiple guys that can play right or left tackle, so we don’t want to go ahead and predetermine that now, especially since we haven’t even been on the field with these guys yet.”

There was some uncertainty about what the Giants would do with DL Leonard Williams earlier this offseason. After trading for him midseason, New York didn’t want to let him walk in free agency. But the two sides also weren’t able to work out a long-term deal before the deadline for the franchise tag. The Giants tagged Williams and the veteran promptly signed it, locking in at least another year in 2020 between the two sides. 

“Leonard has a great physical skill set,” Judge said. “He’s come to work every day this spring, he’s done a really good job for us in terms of his base understanding of our schemes and our concepts. I’ve been very pleased with how he’s worked. I’ve had great interactions with him. He’s got a real good personality and he enjoys ball. The biggest thing is he does have a very good skill set that we’ll look to always use that — position flexibility is very key for us.”