NFC Notes: Russell Wilson, Brandon Graham, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

Cowboys LB Kenneth Murray is a candidate to start inside for Dallas and commented on joining the team of his former Oklahoma teammate, WR CeeDee Lamb.

“I just feel like I’ll be that traffic cop in the middle of the street, just trying to get everyone lined up, make sure everyone knows what’s coming or we’re in the right check, stuff like that,” Murray said, via Josh Tolentino. “That was my role in Tennessee, and it’s my plan to be that same thing here. We’ve got every piece we need to be a dominant defense in the NFL. I think, looking at what the staff is wanting to bring to it, looking at our personnel, I think we’ll be a really fast defense.”

“Me and CeeDee were recruited in the same class, went to Oklahoma the same year,” Murray added. “Went to the NFL the same year. We’ve played a lot of ball together. He’s a tremendous player. I’m just looking forward to linking up with him here, winning football games with him here. I don’t think it’s rocket science in the sense that you have to do a bunch of different things. It comes down to making sure we’re all communicating on the same page, understand what our jobs are within the scheme then playing with that [attack] mentality. It’s definitely having that mentality that we’re going to lock into the scheme then go out there and play with violence.”

Eagles

Eagles DE Brandon Graham mentioned how DC Vic Fangio‘s goal for their edge rushers going into last season was to stay physically fit. It resulted in Graham playing around five pounds lighter than usual in previous years. 

“I’m trying to make sure pictures, everything looks good this last year,” Graham said, via Tim McManus of ESPN. “You don’t want that belly sticking out or them cheeks looking puffy because it seems like you got food in them.”

Graham pointed out that Fangio told him he would play “a lot more” before the 2024 season. 

“[Fangio] told me I was going to be playing a lot more when we practiced against the Patriots [in August],” Graham said. “He was saying, ‘We’re about to bump up your reps and get you right, get you ready. I said, ‘OK.’ I didn’t know what that meant. But s–, I know what it means now.”

Now entering the 16th year of his career, Graham said he hasn’t made any decisions about how long to continue his career.

“You know what, I’m leaving it open, man. It’s more like, just finishing the season and hopefully holding that trophy at the end, and then we’ll cross that road when it comes.”

Giants 

The Giants introduced Russell Wilson after signing him to a contract this week. The veteran quarterback highly praised WR Malik Nabers and already had a conversation with the second-year receiver. 

“Watching this freak of an athlete in Nabers,” Wilson said, via GiantsWire. “This guy, when he touches the ball, he may score every single time. He’s been exciting. Got to talk to him along the way. He’s fired up and we’ve had a lot of good conversations so far. Just really excited to get to work. Excited about the young guys, guys like Theo (Johnson) and what he can do and the experienced guys like Darius (Slayton) and his ability to get down the field and make plays.

Wilson also thinks WR Jalin Hyatt has been “untapped” so far in his career. 

“I think I talked to Jalin Hyatt today a little bit too. He’s a guy that’s been untapped in terms of what knows he’s capable of. It’s just been a really good process. And there are many others. Wan’Dale Robinson, he is like a running back. Every time he touches the ball, he’s hard to tackle, his ability to make people miss, his ability to get away from guys and his ability to escape. I’ve played with some guys that before.”