NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Saints

Cowboys

Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said there is “absolutely” no chance of the organization rescinding QB Dak Prescott’s franchise tag. 

“Absolutely not,” Jones said, via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk. “Dak’s our quarterback for the future. Obviously, this hasn’t been the easiest thing. As Jerry says, ‘As money gets bigger, deals get harder.’ Certainly, we’re talking a significant amount of money here which he so deserves. Absolutely not. Dak’s going to be our quarterback this year. He’s our quarterback for the future. We think the world of him. He represents our franchise in a very positive way in terms of what we want as a leader of our team. He’s just an outstanding man, and we would never rescind the franchise tag.” 

Eagles

• Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP notes that the Eagles are currently set to be $50.6 million over the salary cap in 2021.
• Citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Shorr-Parks writes that 2021’s salary cap could be impacted by potentially playing games without fans, which would result in “considerably less revenue” for NFL teams.  It’s possible the salary cap to drop by “$30 to $80 million” from the projected $215 million for 2021. 
• Shorr-Parks points out that the Eagles are set to have 12 players with salary cap figures of around $10 million with seven costing over $15 million.
• Some notable cap figures in 2021 for the Eagles include: QB Carson Wentz ($34.6 million), DL Malik Jackson ($13.6 million), Darius Slay ($15.75 million), and DT Javon Hargrave ($15.2 million). 
• Shorr-Parks mentions that the Eagles can roll over whatever remains of their $23.5 million in current cap space.
• Regarding possible future cuts for the Eagles, Shorr-Parks notes that releasing WRs Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Marquise Goodwin would free up $19 million.
• Shorr-Parks could see the Eagles restructuring DT Fletcher Cox and DE Brandon Graham contracts for 2021, given they are projected to cost $22 million and $17.9 million respectively against the cap.
• Shorr-Parks also writes that Eagles will likely try to lower TE Zach Ertz‘s cap figure from $12.4 million.

Saints

• Katherine Terrell of The Athletic writes that it was clear the Saints were “ready to make a change” from G Larry Warford at the NFL Combine and were likely waiting until after the 2020 NFL Draft or testing his trade market before opting to release him on Friday. 
• Terrell notes that Warford’s $7.65 million salary for 2020 likely prevented New Orleans from finding a trade partner. 
• The Saints picked up $7.75 million in salary cap by cutting Warford, who would’ve counted for $12.875 million against the cap in total for 2020 if New Orleans kept him. 
• Regarding Saints’ first-round OL Cesar Ruiz, HC Sean Payton said during the 2020 NFL Draft that he intends on Ruiz being a starter: “We weren’t drafting someone that high to come in and be a backup.”