NFC Notes: Darren Waller, Jacoby Brissett, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants

Commanders

While the expectation has been for some time now that Sam Howell will be the Commanders’ starter in 2023, HC Ron Rivera says veteran Jacoby Brissett should not be counted out.

“I’ve said a couple [of] times, don’t sleep on Jacoby, he’s done a nice job as well,” Rivera said, via CommandersWire.com. “I mean, we got some really good quarterback play going on right now. We’ve got a real good quarterback room. We’re very happy with what we’ve got right now.”

• Commanders DL David Bada tore his tricep in practice on Wednesday and is getting another opinion. (John Keim)

Cowboys

• The Athletic’s Jon Machota writes several Cowboys receivers have been standing out, including veteran WR Brandin Cooks who arrived via trade this offseason.
• He adds there’s some serious competition on the back end of the depth chart between 2022 third-round WR Jalen Tolbert, WR KaVontae Turpin and seventh-round WR Jalen Brooks.
• Turpin was outstanding as a return specialist in 2022 and has been making plays on offense during camp. Tolbert was a non-factor as a rookie but Machota points out he’s looked far more comfortable this year. And if the Cowboys had to cut their roster down today, Machota predicts Brooks would be on the final 53. 

Giants

The Giants brought in TE Darren Waller this offseason and his teammates are clearly very impressed with his overall ability. 

“Beast,” Giants DB Nick McCloud said of Waller, via Charlotte Carroll of the Athletic. “There’s no other way to describe it. It’s just good work for everybody. Corner, nickel, safety — it’s good work for everybody. He moves like a receiver, but he’s big like a tight end. We definitely want him on our team rather than going against him.”

Waller stresses that he wants to be able to do everything the coaching staff could ask of him, despite his size.

“I guess it’s just for my size and my weight, and I guess the way that I run and the multitude of routes that I try to be comfortable running, and a lot of guys don’t necessarily do that,” Waller said. “But it’s just coming in with a mindset of, ‘I don’t want to be limited in any part of my game.’ Whatever they want to line me up and run at, I want to be able to do that and be effective at it and not just be like, ‘Oh, man, I’m not really that good at that,’ or, ‘I can’t do that.’ I want to be able to do everything and just present myself as a viable option to the quarterback every time I run a route.”

Waller says he’s allowed to improvise a bit within his new offense to try to get open and make plays. 

“You can put your own little sauce on it and get open,” Waller said. “It’s encouraged as long as the fundamentals are there and your knowledge of what the defense is doing and your timing and the concept is there. So, it’s little things like that. It’s not anything drastic, but it’s just really small details of a route that you probably can’t even notice.”