NFC Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

• Cowboys S Xavier Woods suffered a ribs injury while LB Leighton Vander Esch and NT Antwaun Woods are dealing with ankle sprains.  Michael Gehlken mentions that Vander Esch’s sprain is believed to be more serious than Woods’.
• Vander Esch said of his injury: “It’s not broke. It’s definitely a high ankle. Just, hope it’s just a sprain. I’ll get an MRI tomorrow.” (Jon Machota)
• Cowboys WR Michael Gallup suffered a right hip strain and will be further evaluated on Monday. (Michael Gehlken)
• McCarthy said of holding RB Ezekiel Elliott out: “We felt like it was not in the best interest to go with him.” (Calvin Watkins)
• Elliott said he thought he would play on Sunday, but felt a “tug” in his injured calf yesterday: “I can play with pain and soreness, but with a tug I can’t be as explosive as I need to be.” (Jon Machota)
• Elliott did say that he has no plans to sit out the remainder of the season: Zeke: “Oh no, I’m not shutting it down.”

Giants

Regarding his trade from the Browns to the Giants, S Jabrill Peppers said he was initially excited to see Cleveland acquire Odell Beckham Jr. before noticing he was getting sent to New York as a part of the deal. 

“I was at home, I was on Twitter, I seen it, I was actually excited about the trade. You know, I’m thinking, ‘St, we just got Odell.’ I keep looking, and, ‘Oh st, man, I’m not here no more’,” said Peppers, via Art Stapleton. 

Washington

• Washington HC Ron Rivera told reporters that Alex Smith remains the team’s starting quarterback moving forward. (Ben Standig)
• According to Rivera, they are looking forward to getting rookie RB Antonio Gibson back hopefully next week. (Rhiannon Walker)