NFC Notes: Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

Dallas WR CeeDee Lamb implied he’s frustrated after owner Jerry Jones stated they aren’t in a hurry to agree on a new extension. Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones praised Lamb and claimed he won’t play anywhere else. 

“We think the world of CeeDee, and we understand where he’s coming from on this and why he’s not here,” Jones said, via the Doomsday podcast. “But we also continue to work very hard on getting this deal done. . . . Zero. Zero. Zero thought process of not having CeeDee be a Dallas Cowboy. CeeDee’s not going to be playing anywhere but Dallas, but we want this to be a great situation for him when we’re all said and done but also a good situation so that we can put a great football team on the field.”

Eagles

Eagles OC Kellen Moore downplayed the reps that QB Tanner McKee has received with the second team instead of former Steelers QB Kenny Pickett.

“Tanner is doing an awesome job. Kenny is doing an awesome job,” Moore said, via Pro Football Talk. “Really two independent things. It’s not necessarily that they’re associated with each other. I think both of those guys are having really good camps. Sometimes when you are a younger guy, sometimes we like to put you in some different situations where you are with different guys on the field, whether it be with a second group or a first group, all those different things. We try and mix and match these things to give yourself a different perspective for these guys. Kenny has handled it awesome. Tanner has handled it awesome. It’s been really good for these guys.”

Giants

Giants co-owner John Mara doesn’t believe the story is written on QB Daniel Jones and wants to see what he can do with a revamped offensive and weapons.

“Listen, I’m still happy we gave him that contract because I felt he played really well for us in ’22,” Mara said, via ESPN. “Last year he got hurt and, let’s be honest, when he was playing, we weren’t blocking anybody. So let’s give him a chance with a better offensive line and some weapons around him and see what he can do.”

Mara added that he didn’t want to trade the capital to get into the top 3 to select one of the draft’s premier quarterbacks and instead opted to add first-round WR Malik Nabers to help Jones.

“I was nervous about giving up too much to go get a quarterback,” Mara said. “I was prepared to let [general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll] do that if that is what they wanted to do. We made a decision to stay with Daniel and add a weapon for him, and I think that is going to work out for us.”

Mara said he didn’t agree with letting RB Saquon Barkley walk, but reiterated that he doesn’t want to interfere with the front office and their decisions.

“Every year there is going to be a personnel decision that I am not 100% in favor of,” Mara said. “But at the end of the day, you let the general manager and the coach, particularly if they have a unified conviction, make the decisions and then bitch about it later. That was the decision they made. No, I wasn’t crazy about it. I didn’t want to lose him, but I understood what their philosophy was and you have to let them do their jobs.“