NFC Notes: Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Darren Waller

Cowboys

While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated that they’re prepared to move on from RB Ezekiel Elliott, he still left the door open to the possibility of the veteran running back returning in the right scenario. 

โ€œI donโ€™t want to ever leave him hanging or fans hanging or anybody,โ€ Jones said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. โ€œBut I wouldnโ€™t take any possibility off the table. Zeke gave us everything he had and more. And we gave him everything we had and more. So, thatโ€™s the way youโ€™d like to end it.โ€

Jones said that they did not offer Elliott the chance to return with a pay cut.

โ€œNo, no specifically, no,โ€ Jones said.

Jones also commented on OT Terence Steele and his return from a season-ending injury, as well as mentioning who could wind up playing left guard for the Cowboys.

โ€œHeโ€™s such a top tackle,โ€ Jones said. โ€œAs we have it right now, (Steele) should be the backup tackle on both sides as we look at it right today. Thatโ€™s a lot of position flex right there. To me, what Steele does is become a part of a three-man position look when you look at the tackles. Looking at it that way gives us as good a tackle position on offense as weโ€™ve (had).โ€

โ€œWe could address it in the draft,โ€ Jones said of the left guard. โ€œWe could address it (in-house) with a couple of our young guys. Iโ€™m ready to go from within. Matt Waletzko, heโ€™s a tackle, but he gives you a lot of depth and gives you some flex on what youโ€™re doing at guard if you need it. Weโ€™re not in a position (where we must draft an offensive lineman), but if the player on the offensive line is there for us at the right spot, I wouldnโ€™t hesitate, matter of fact, Iโ€™ll take him.โ€

Eagles

Giants

Giants HC Brian Daboll didn’t say whether the team would adopt a more pass-heavy approach with the addition of TE Darren Waller. Daboll said the team would base it’s offensive strategy around the personnel that they have.

I just think it depends on the team we have,” Daboll said, via the team’s website. “I think everything we try to do is geared toward our team and where our team’s at. That’s not our question to answer right now. Darren, I think, is a good football player. I’m happy that we traded for him. To get him in our system, to let him see how he processes our calls, to get him out on the field, to read his body language, he’s been a very talented player in the league. I’m happy we have him. And I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s a pretty unique player, I would say. We’ve just got to get him into the building and start working with him in terms of learning our stuff. But he’s a talented player.

Daboll added that Waller has lined up at different positions in the past and the team will continue to experiment with him to try and find the best ways to maximize his talents.

They’ve lined him up in different spots,” Daboll said. “He’s worked under different head coaches. I think whatever we feel is best for him and our team, that’s what we’ll try to do. In the springtime, it’s a time to kind of experiment on some things and see what works and see what doesn’t and try to build off that. I think that’s your job as a coaching staff to figure out who you have and move the pieces around and go out there and play with the guys that you have. You can have a lot of different personnel groups that you use throughout the year, some more tight end-based and some more receiver-based. There’s times last year when we used three running backs at a time. So, that’s what all this spring and training camp and all those things will be for. ‘Let’s put everybody out there. Let’s start learning the system together as a group and figure out what we’re doing.‘”

Daboll said that the team has had discussions about potentially limiting Waller’s workload in an effort to keep him healthy for the full season.

We’ve had initial talks about it,” Daboll said. “I’ve had initial discussions with our training staff about practices and OTAs and about some things. I think we take each player that we have on a case-by-case basis now. Once they get in there, phase one, they just start working out in meetings, I think that’ll evolve over the next few weeks, not just with D, but with all the guys, too.

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