NFC Notes: Kirk Cousins, Bryce Young, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

Buccaneers first-round OL Graham Barton discussed how he’s attacking the move to center from the tackle position during the first phase of offseason workouts.

“Just learning the playbook, I think, is going to be the biggest thing for me,” Barton said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “Allowing me to play free, because … the first couple of days you’re up there, you’re thinking so much. You’re thinking, ‘What’s this, what’s this?’ I’m thinking about what I learned.”

“The more you learn and the more you get confident in the playbook and you get up to the line knowing exactly what you’re going to say, I think as you do that you’re allowed to focus more on your play and you can play more freely.”

Falcons

When appearing on the Dan Patrick Show, Falcons’ veteran QB Kirk Cousins said he is “good to go” after recovering from a torn Achilles. 

“I’m good to go,” Cousins said, via ProFootballTalk. “I’ve told people for a while that if the Super Bowl were today, I’m playing. And that goes back probably — I think when I first got here, I was working out and we got maybe a week or two into my rehab and I did some drills where I said, ‘Hey, if the Super Bowl were today, I’m playing.’ And they seemed to agree.”

Cousins reiterated he’s ready to play and is allowing his body to get reacclimated to playing. 

“So, you know, once that tendon gets stabilized and healed and the tissue connects, you really just are trying to work through telling your body that you’re good now, because the brain still wants to guard and protect and it takes some time.”

Panthers

Panthers QB Bryce Young is excited about the new additions the team provided him with offensively.

“I’m really excited to have some new pieces,” Young said, via PFT. “Now it’s on us to put the work in, to build the chemistry, to get the reps on the field and to make it translate. I’m grateful the guys are coming in. They all have really good work ethics, great attitudes, great outlooks. We all want the same thing. We all want to win. We all want to contribute to winning in whatever capacity we can. Give all for the team. We’re all excited for that. It’s always good to just have new juice, have different juice. Now it’s on us to do the work to make it translate.”