NFC Notes: Eagles, Giants, Washington

Eagles

Eagles DE Brandon Graham said he is excited about the team signing DE Ryan Kerrigan this offseason. 

“I love that,” Graham said, via Martin Frank of the Deleware News Journal. “You can’t have too many pass rushers at all. I hear people talking about how him being like Chris Long (in 2017). Chris Long was a beast, and Kerrigan is a beast.”

Graham plans on being “more vocal” around the Eagles’ locker room and will be a clear leader going forward. 

“I’m going to be a little more vocal now because guys want to know how to get to this level of being here this long,” Graham said. “I tell them it’s the regimen. It’s how you treat people every day, how you handle yourself.”

• Kerrigan’s one-year deal includes a $1.425 million signing bonus and a base salary of $1.075 million. There are also four additional void years to spread out the cap hit to just $1.36 million in 2021. (Field Yates)

Giants

Jeremy Appledorf, the agent for new Giants RB Ryquell Armstead, mentioned that his client is completely healthy after dealing with severe COVID-19 symptoms last season. 

“He has a 100% clean bill of health from multiple doctors,” Appledorf said, via Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “He’s been cleared of any COVID-related symptoms. He’s ready to get to work with the Giants.”

Appledorf added that Armstead did not opt-out of 2020 and had a desire to play. 

“He was not a COVID opt-out,” Appledorf assured. “He wanted to play.”

• According to NJ.com’s Zack Rosenblatt, former Giants video director David Maltese is suing the team claiming violence in the workplace and retaliation. 
• Maltese was New York’s video director for almost 30 years and claims in the lawsuit he saw and experienced multiple instances of violence between team employees. 
• In one incident, Maltese alleges assistant video director Steven Venditti was physically assaulted by his director of football data and innovation Tyseer Siam on September 12. Siam is the direct supervisor for Maltese, Venditti and Maltese’s other video department subordinate. 
• After reporting the incident, Siam was removed from his supervisory role but not fired. Maltese expressed concern later in the season that Siam and Venditti were to be seated close together on a plane for a team trip and was accused by Giants senior VP and general counsel William Heller of trying to set the team up. 
• Maltese also says he experienced physical and verbal abuses for years, including being tackled into a table in 2004 by then-assistant OL coach Dave DeGuglielmo who threatened to kill him. He also says former video director John Manusco physically attacked him in the past. 
• Maltese says Siam engaged in threatening behavior toward him and that in meetings with human resources present, Heller also threatened him if he revealed the issues to anyone else by saying: “I will personally go into your office and strangle you until you can no longer breathe, ok? OK?”
• The Giants fired Maltese on March 8 and he’s contending that violates New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act. 
• The team released the following response: “We are aware of the civil filing by a former employee and are prepared to aggressively defend the organization and its employees against the meritless claims. Beyond that, we do not intend to make further comment on this matter.”

Washington

• It’s possible to connect the dots between Washington OT Morgan Moses‘ departure and his contract, which had just two years left with base salaries of $7.5 million and no guarantees, and surmise that he forced the issue on a new deal and the team decided to move on. 
• However, the Athletic’s Ben Standig points out this would be a curious time in the calendar for Moses’ team to force the issue given most teams have made their plans for 2021 and there’s a shortage of money and starting positions available.