NFC Notes: Terry McLaurin, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants

Commanders

• The Athletic’s Ben Standig says teams around the league who need a receiver are monitoring the Commanders and WR Terry McLaurin in case negotiations go south. 
• The two sides will start to engage seriously in contract talks after the draft with the goal of a resolution in June or July, per Standig. Recent deals for wideout have probably pushed McLaurin’s price well above $20 million a year, he adds. 
• Commanders HC Ron Rivera told Standig they have not had any calls inquiring about McLaurin: “And we wouldn’t entertain it.”
• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer would not rule out the Commanders using a high pick on a quarterback even if Carson Wentz is their starter to open 2022 as expected. 

Cowboys

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and EVP Stephen Jones also commented on the situation involving DE Randy Gregory, who elected not to sign with Dallas and left for the Broncos after a deal fell apart.

“We have had no surprises,” said Jones via the Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I was on the phone with Randy and his agent, and I said ‘El Paso.’ The old west Texas town is called El Paso. Thank you, but no thank you. And he said, ‘Well, I’ll go ahead and get on the plane.’ We could have done something there. They asked if we would do that, and I didn’t do it. It’s a call that we’ll just see. We got at least three more top players with what we would have spent there.”

“To a point, we wanted to keep Gregory,” Stephen Jones told reporters. “And then we made a decision. We had a Plan B and we started weighing as it came right down to it. We finally just had to say no. We knew if we didn’t do that (deal) that we had some options. It turns out we got three really good football players for one. We feel comfortable with where we ended up there. We’re going to be looking at free agency, and as free agency is winding down, there could be some situations out there that are very appealing to us. We’ll look at that. But obviously, the main focus will be really rolling up our sleeves (to prepare for the draft).”

Giants

• PFN’s Aaron Wilson reports Hawaii CB Cortez Davis will meet either virtually or in-person with the a number of teams, including the Giants.
• Giants QB Daniel Jones takes responsibility for the way the team has performed during his tenure as the starter. yet has no doubts he will be ready for the upcoming season: “My focus is on preparing myself. I take full responsibility for how I’ve played. We haven’t won enough games. We haven’t scored enough points. I take responsibility for that as a quarterback.” (Zack Rosenblatt)
• Jones is also looking forward to working alongside journeyman veteran QB Tyrod Taylor: “I’m excited. He’s a guy with a lot of experience in this league.” (Andrew Siciliano)
• Giants WR Sterling Shepard spoke about his decision to accept a pay cut in order to remain in New York: “They wanted me here. I wanted to be here. We were able to work something out that made sense for both sides. I did the pros and cons and the pros outweighed the cons by a landslide. If everything goes the way that I hope it goes, hopefully, I’ll be here for a little bit longer.” (Ralph Vacchiano)
• Ryan Dunleavy expects Pittsburgh QB Kenny Pickett to also meet with the Giants ahead of the draft.