NFC Notes: Terry McLaurin, Darren Waller, Commanders, Cowboys, Giants

Commanders

Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy was asked about the leadership of WR Terry McLaurin and wishes that more players were like him. 

“Ultimate professional,” Bieniemy answered, via CommandersWire.com. “Does a hell of a job of showing up to work every single day. You want everybody to be like Terry, Terry works his tail off. He sets an example by his work ethic and what he does. He’s also a man of his word. So, I mean, I knew about him when he came out of Ohio State. We watched a lot of tape on him when he was coming out, but loved the man, loved the character, and I am enjoying the professional football player.”

• Mark Maske reports the NFL scheduled a special owners’ meeting on July 20 regarding the Commanders’ sale and a potential vote. 

Cowboys

Cowboys 2022 second-round DE Sam Williams had a decent rookie season, notching four sacks as a part-time rusher behind Dallas’ other starting options. He’ll still be in a rotational role in 2023 but Cowboys LB Micah Parsons has been encouraging him to make it impossible to take him off the field. 

“I want Sam to make a huge jump,” Parsons said via the Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I kinda know how bad he wants it. He was like, ‘Last year I was learning. I’m trying to play as much as I can.’ I said, ‘Take the job then. Nobody is stopping you from your success. Last year you came in with three guys. If you want to be the guy, how do you do that? You got to cut one of their heads off. It’s nothing personal. It’s business. You got to be great for yourself. I can’t tell you to take the job, take my job, take (DeMarcus Lawrence’s) job. At the end of the day, it’s business. We want you to come in and be that guy for us.’ He said he wants 10 sacks. I was like, ‘Get 10 sacks. I’m not stopping you from getting 10 sacks. The only person that can is you.’”

Giants

Giants TE Darren Waller admitted that he wasn’t surprised about being traded by the Raiders but was not expecting to be headed to New York of all teams.

“Not totally shocked,” Waller said, via Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I had heard some things. There were different moments throughout the year that I heard I may be traded, or I may not. So the actual event of it wasn’t too shocking. But I didn’t expect it to be the Giants.”

“It’s been a great challenge,” Waller added. “I love a good challenge and just forming a new relationship with my teammates. They’re really excited about winning. They’re really solid about doing things the right way and continuing to build a foundation on what they started last year. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”