NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Saquon Barkley, Washington

Cowboys

• Cowboys OG Zack Martin said the team needs to give QB Dak Prescott more time to move the ball downfield: “Our offense didn’t hold up our end of the bargain. We got to do a better job. … (The offensive line) has to do a better job of giving Dak time to get the ball to (our) playmakers.” (Jon Machota)
• Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy was non-committal on LT Tyron Smith‘s availability for Thursday’s game: “If he’s ready, he’s ready. If he’s not, he’s not. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go on Thursday. It’s a long year. Obviously, Tyron is a big part of our football team. When he’s ready to go, he’ll go.” (Michael Gehlken)
• Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott said he hurt his knee earlier in the game. It was the same knee that he’s been dealing with all season: “Just the same knee, the same knee injury I’ve been dealing with. It’s feeling better, but I rolled up on it, and kind of hurt it. Overall, it’s definitely getting better.” (Calvin Watkins)
• Prescott threw his support behind WR Amari Cooper and his vaccination status: “Let’s not knock a guy for making a personal decision. That’s my teammate..my brother…I’m gonna support him. I know he’ll come back and be beneficial for us in the late part of the season.” (Ed Werder)
• Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had high praise for Cowboys first-round LB Micah Parsons: “(He’s) a special player. To be that good of a LB and be able to play DE, there’s not a lot of guys like that in this league. He has a high motor, he chased me down on that sack … The whole game, he was in there the whole time battling and battling.” (Machota)
• Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said WR CeeDee Lamb has a chance to play Thursday despite being in concussion protocol because he’s feeling better today: “If he were having issues today then you’d probably be a little leery.” (Jon Machota)

Eagles

• NJ.com’s Mike Kaye notes that the Eagles have not ruled out re-signing CB Steven Nelson beyond this season. He’s currently on a one-year deal but he’s been a part of a secondary that has largely played well. 
• With the extension for slot CB Avonte Maddox, Kaye points out Philadelphia has two of three corner positions locked up for the next couple of seasons when factoring in No. 1 CB Darius Slay.
• The Philadelphia Eagles announced Slay is currently in concussion protocol. (Kaye)
• Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said RB Jordan Howard is week-to-week with a knee sprain, LB Davion Taylor will head to IR with a knee sprain and LB Shaun Bradley‘s shoulder sprain isn’t serious. (Zach Berman)

Giants

At one point it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Giants RB Saquon Barkley would become the highest-paid back in football. But injuries have derailed Barkley’s career to this point, and now it’s less certain. Three out of four NFL executives ESPN’s Jordan Raanan spoke to were against giving Barkley an extension, instead preferring to let him play out the next two seasons on the fifth-year option and franchise tag before letting him walk. 

“I don’t even know that I would want him. What’s the point?” one executive said. “I don’t hold it against him [personally]. But he hasn’t been available. That is why you don’t invest in the position.”

It’s unclear if this is how the Giants feel. General manager Dave Gettleman has steadfastly stood by his controversial decision to take Barkley No. 2 overall, and even if he is gone in 2022, HC Joe Judge sounded a supportive note on Barkley, saying his latest ankle injury doesn’t indicate to him a concerning injury history. 

“I don’t know that he is [losing money]. I think this injury is getting blown completely out of proportion. This isn’t like his knee is flaring up and he can’t get over it. He’s past that injury. He stepped on a guy’s foot. It’s a YMCA injury,” Judge said. “This isn’t like, here’s a knee, now a hamstring. This injury here is a freak injury. This to me is completely independent of all the other stuff. I don’t think this puts him in that neighborhood of the worrisome part of that.”