It’s looking increasingly likely that the Cowboys will be the only team from the NFC East to earn a postseason berth. Dallas, at 10-4, is only a game ahead of the Eagles at 9-5, but Football Outsiders’ playoff odds paint a more disparate picture. The Cowboys are 86% likely to make the playofsf, while Philadelphia’s chances sit at just 35.3% — for perspective, the Birds’ odds were at roughly 79% before Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. Dallas will face the Colts and Washington over the final two weeks of the season, while the Eagles will also take on Washington, and close out with the Giants. Here’s more from the division…
- Though reports recently indicated that the Eagles have opened extension talks with edge-rusher Brandon Graham, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer doesn’t believe it makes sense for Graham to re-sign with the Birds before free agency begins. Graham, 26, currently plays as a 3-4 OLB in the Eagles defensive scheme, but could have more value to a club that employs a 4-3 front, where Graham could play defensive end. Some insiders have cited Everson Griffen‘s five-year, $42.5MM extension with the Vikings as a comparable mark for Graham, and McLane suggests that the pass-rusher could maximize his earnings by hitting the open market.
- In terms of total guarantee, the Cowboys’ Brandon Carr is the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, but as Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News writes, Carr hasn’t played to that level. In fact, his lack of production could lead to Dallas asking him to face a pay cut, or be released. “I think that one of the things that create a challenge for him is it’s like the same one that a No. 1 draft pick has. The expectation of what he’s supposed to bring to the table is one that is really very difficult to meet,” said owner/GM Jerry Jones. “Now, has he played at a Pro Bowl level? No, he has not. And therein lies the issue.”
- Carr is just one piece of the Cowboys’ roster that will be in flux this offseason, as the club also has decisions to make on Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray. Field Yates of ESPN.com lays out the scenarios in which the duo could return to Dallas, arguing that it’s a near lock that Bryant will remain a Cowboy.
- Rich Tandler of RealRedskins.com runs through the financial implications of the moves that Washington could make with regards to Robert Griffin III, noting that while the third-year quarterback is likely to be on the roster in 2015, the club probably won’t exercise its fifth-year option on RG3.