NFL Notes: Sam Darnold, Giants, Saints, Texans

Sam Darnold

Following Friday’s loss to Ohio State, USC QB Sam Darnold told reporters that he plans to take some time before deciding on whether to declare for the 2018 NFL draft.

“Right now, I think I’m really just focused on just hanging out with my teammates for the next couple of days and really just saying bye to the seniors, because they’ve put together such a great season,” Darnold said, via ESPN.com. “But it’s tough.

“I’ll look at everything and make my decision after that.”

Overall, Darnold’s performance against OSU was pretty disappointing, as he turned the ball over three times.

However, Daniel Jeremiah writes that the sky isn’t falling for Darnold and his draft stock.

“The degree of difficulty for him Friday was off the charts,” Jeremiah writes. “He had no support from the run game and little help from his pass protection. He was constantly in third-and-long situations. There were no layups for him.

“However, I think NFL evaluators are going to see a lot good things from Darnold when they study tape from this game. It’s just a question of whether they believe his ball-security issues can be coached out of him.

“They’re going to like everything else about him.”

Giants

Giants co-owner John Mara said Friday that he isn’t ready to give up on former first-round CB Eli Apple, despite his troubled 2017 season.

“I think Dave said it well, ‘You don’t want to quit on talent.’ I think that’s a discussion we have to have in the offseason,” Mara said, via Dan Duggan of NJ.com. “He’s a young guy. I happen to like him personally. I’m obviously disturbed by what’s happened this year. I thought he had a terrific training camp and I was really excited about him as a player coming into the season. So, I think we have to figure out just what’s going on with him. But I’d like at the end of the day for him to be a part of this team’s future. But I think that’s going to have to be a discussion with whoever the next head coach is and Dave, as well.”

Saints

• Saints HC Sean Payton told reporters on Friday that free agent DE Darryl Tapp is now helping them as a coaching intern. (Josh Katzenstein)
• We have Tapp featured in our Top 50 Available Free Agents list.

Texans

• Texans P Shane Lechler said Friday that he plans to return for next season: “I’m very hopeful.” (Aaron Wilson)