NFL Notes: Andrew Luck, Geno Smith, Cowboys & Rams

Andrew Luck

Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck‘s days of being reluctant to slide are over, according to ESPN’s Mike Wells.

Luck has shown commitment to working on his sliding throughout offseason workouts.

“A big part of practice is making it as game-like as possible,” Luck said. “With all things, if you throw an interception, you start running after the guy that intercepted it. If you’re out running and you’re not near the sidelines, you slide. It’s part of practice.”

Geno Smith

• ESPN’s Rich Cimini writes that QB Geno Smith has closed some of the gap on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick “to some degree”, but he doesn’t think this is enough for the Jets to pass on bringing back Fitzpatrick at some point.
• Cimini points out that the Jets wouldn’t be offering Fitzpatrick $15 million guaranteed in a new contract if they really felt comfortable handing the job to Smith.
• Jets HC Todd Bowles has said that Smith is “light years” ahead of last year, and Cimini notes that he’s been more decisive in camp, particularly at getting the ball out faster and processing the defense.

Cowboys

• ESPN’s Todd Archer believes David Irving and Benson Mayowa could end up being the Cowboys’ starting defensive ends for Week 1, assuming that DeMarcus Lawrence’s suspension is upheld. The Cowboys writer thinks Mayowa has the best shot to keep his starting position even when Gregory returns.
• Archer expects Rod Smith to beat out Keith Smith for the Cowboys’ starting fullback job. While Archer admits that it’s hard to say for certain if either player can be an effective lead blocker until pads come on, Smith has experience at tailback which gives him the edge on Keith.

Rams 

Rams executive VP of football operations Kevin Demoff says that they’re working on new uniforms that will be revealed upon the opening of their new Inglewood stadium in 2019.

“We’re working on new uniforms to open up the new Inglewood stadium in 2019,” Demoff said, via ESPN.com. “We’re going to figure out a program in the interim to make our fans happy but also build for the future in Inglewood. I know it’s important to our fans. But I know it’s more important to have the team back and the jerseys are next.