NFC Notes: Eagles, Giants, Washington

Eagles

Eagles OT Lane Johnson believes veteran OT Jason Peters will effectively transition to guard to fill in G Brandon Brooks, who sustained a season-ending torn Achilles. 

“He’s been playing left tackle for 16 years, so he’s moving into a place that’s a telephone booth,” Johnson said, via Mike Kaye of NJ Advance Media. “Not much movement, but he’s a guy that has extreme power, extreme durability, so I’m excited to get him back in there with me. You can’t replace a Brandon Brooks — coming off one of the best seasons at guard that I’ve ever seen — so we’re going to miss the big guy, but having JP there is going to help us out a lot.”

• Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice notes the Eagles have not yet officially executed the new one-year, $1.35 million deal they agreed to with WR Marquise Goodwin after trading for him in April. 
• Once they do, the Eagles should pick up about $3 million in cap space in 2020 and $7 million in 2021. 
• Eagles HC Doug Pederson reiterated the team’s belief in 2019 first-round OT Andre Dillard as he takes over as the starter at left tackle: “We love where Andre is at.” (Kempski)
• Meanwhile, Pederson thinks Peters, the player Dillard is replacing, will have a “relatively easy” transition to right guard. 
• Pederson didn’t say when the team expects WR Alshon Jeffery to return to practice but did say the veteran “is in a really good spot.” (Paul Domowitch)

Giants

• NJ.com’s Matt Lombardo notes the Giants elected to bank on the rapport between QB Daniel Jones and WR Darius Slayton continuing to develop in 2020. The only addition New York made was re-signing WR Corey Coleman, who should slot in as the No. 4 receiver. 
• Lombardo adds injuries are a concern, as Slayton, Golden Tate and Sterling Shepard combined to miss 17 games for the Giants in 2019. 
• The Athletic’s Dan Duggan writes the addition of QB Cooper Rush likely pushes Giants QB Alex Tanney off the active roster, though he could still land on the practice squad. 
• Duggan points out Giants veteran RB Dion Lewis isn’t a lock to make the team, as his $1.55 million deal doesn’t include any guaranteed money. 
• Duggan expects Giants DL R.J. McIntosh to be squeezed out given New York will likely play a higher percentage of snaps in sub-packages under new DC Patrick Graham. 
• At outside linebacker, Duggan gives sixth-round LB Cam Brown the edge over seventh-round LB Carter Coughlin because of draft status. 
• Giants seventh-round LB TJ Brunson has the edge at inside linebacker over fellow seventh-round rookie Tae Crowder, Josiah Tauaefa, Devante Downs and Mark McLaurin, per Duggan.
• Duggan puts Giants CB Chris Williamson as the final cornerback in ahead of Grant Haley and Dravon Askew-Henry.
• Duggan also notes new Giants K Chandler Catanzaro is not a lock to make it to Week 1 as New York’s starting kicker. 
• Giants CB Deandre Baker plans to appeal the NFL’s decision to place him on the commissioner’s exempt list pending a resolution to charges of armed robbery against him. (Paul Schwartz)

Washington

• The Athletic’s Rhiannon Walker writes that in addition to competitions at left tackle and left guard, Washington RT Morgan Moses could find himself being pushed out of the starting lineup by new OT Cornelius Lucas if he slips in 2020. 
• Lucas is also a candidate to start on the left side, with other options including former third-round OT Geron Christian and fourth-round rookie Saahdiq Charles. 
• At left guard, Walker says 2019 fourth-round G Wes Martin will compete with veteran G Wes Schweitzer, with the latter the more experienced option. 
• Washington RB Derrius Guice tweeted he’s been “cleared for 2020.” Guice battled multiple knee injuries last year and throughout his short career. (Twitter)
• The NFL and NFLPA are discussing a 2021 salary cap floor of $175 million, which is down from the $198.2 million this year. It’s possible that the figure could be pushed higher, depending on the revenue losses incurred by the league from the 2020 season.
• Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com projects Washington to have $66,629,304 of cap space next year, assuming the cap is set at $175 million.