NFC Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Washington

Cowboys

Cowboys’ Executive VP Stephen Jones is confident in the abilities of TE Blake Jarwin to take over the starting tight end spot and replace a great franchise player in TE Jason Witten.

“I think Blake Jarwin has had an amazing camp,” Jones said, via Pro Football Talk. “He’s right there top handful of all-time favorite Cowboys is Jason Witten. But it was hard to be a tight end in this organization when 82 was around. Certainly, he’s getting to spread his wings now, whether it’s Coach Mike McCarthy, the offensive staff, his teammates, he keeps showing up out there. I don’t know how much you guys have been able to get out to see any of the practices. But he’s just — he’s really coming into his own, and nothing would surprise me with him in terms of what his production could be this year. He just keeps getting better. His rapport with Dak Prescott is outstanding, and I really think he’s got a chance to step right in there and be a really good, if not great, tight end for us.”

• Cowboys’ LB Leighton Vander Esch spoke about the team’s current efforts on defense: “I think our sense of urgency is amazing right now. I think we need to keep that up. That’s another part of being a leader. We’ve got to have that urgency, we’ve got to have that go-getter, that relentless (mentality).” (Jon Machota)

Giants

• Giants’ RB coach Burton Burns spoke about the possibility of using RB Saquon Barkley in the passing game: “He’s athletic, he’s got great hands, he’s got a good ability to run routes. So yes, we want to involve this guy in every facet of the game” (Matt Lombardo)
• Giants’ RB Dion Lewis had the heaviest workload when it came to rushing and receiving during the Giants’ scrimmage. (Ryan Dunleavy)
• Rookie WR Austin Mack has disappeared from the Giants’ wide receiver rotation after being featured prominently up to this point. (Pat Leonard)
• Giants’ HC Joe Judge when asked about the possible injury of LB Blake Martinez: “I’ll check with the trainers and see where he’s at.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• Judge also mentioned that TE Evan Engram was held out of practice due to load management: “We’ve been pounding him so much this summer. It also gave the coaches a chance to look at other tight ends.” (Vacchiano)

Washington

Washington HC Ron Rivera said he isn’t ready to reveal when he will announce the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1 and spoke about the return of QB Alex Smith.

“It’s also not just what we’re seeing, but how he’s feeling,” Rivera said, via Pro Football Talk. “And that’s a conversation that we’re going to have, just to see where he is mentally and go from there. That’s one of the things we try to do too, is we also try to keep him in the loop as we’ve decided and as we’ve gone forward with him.”

• Washington is asking a lot from rookie RB Antonio Gibson and HC Ron Rivera said his athleticism is obvious: “That ability to be an exciting, dynamic player. Having him on the field helps us be a good team.” (John Keim)