NFC Notes: Darren Waller, Commanders, Eagles, Giants

Commanders

Commanders HC Ron Rivera spoke about each of his tight ends, including Logan Thomas, Cole Turner and John Bates. Rivera is looking forward to what the group can prove on the field after losing TE Armani Rogers for the season and being mostly unproven outside of Thomas.

“The guy that’s back, and you’re really happy to see him back, obviously, is Logan,” Rivera said of Thomas, via CommandersWire.com. “He’s really showing us that some of the things that they did in Kansas City we’re gonna be able to do with him and the other guys…

“You look at what you’re getting from Cole. You look at some of the dynamic things he’s doing. Showing that’s pretty much the same thing we saw last year until, like you said, he got dinged up a little bit… You look at John and you say, wow, this, that guy’s really grown. I mean, you know, his role for us is gonna be a little bit different than it’s been traditionally.”

Washington may also have a fourth tight end wind up making their roster in TE Curtis Hodges, who has stepped up according to Rivera.

“Curtis Hodges is a guy that’s really stepped up,” Rivera added. “We were able to put him on injured reserve and then never got a chance to get him off of it. In the end, we designated him for return, and we obviously ran out of time with him, but we got to see some of the things that we wanted to, and we’re seeing it again. And, that’s cause for optimism.”

Eagles

• Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com notes the Eagles are likely getting a feel for what their current group of linebackers can do before adding more depth ahead of the season.
• In the defensive backfield, Kempski mentions S Reed Blankenship will compete for a starting job with Terrell Edmunds and third-rounder Sydney Brown, adding the player who doesn’t earn a starting role will still likely be involved in the defense.
• As for OL Josh Sills, who was indicted on rape and kidnapping charges, the team likely viewed him as a backup this season yet he remains on the commissioner exempt list.

Giants

• Regarding the Giants surprisingly acquiring TE Darren Waller from the Raiders, Adam Caplan of ProFootballNetwork cites personnel sources who indicated Las Vegas was shopping around Waller because he is aging but New York viewed him as a “chess piece on offense.”
• League sources also told Caplan teams were wary about Waller given he missed a total of 14 games over the last two years.  
• According to Caplan, second-year ILB Darrian Beavers has been one of the “biggest surprises” of this year’s offseason program thus far. 
• The Giants have lost assistant ST coach Anthony Blevins, who has been named the head coach of the XFL’s Vegas Vipers. (Jordan Raanan)