The Cowboys managed fine without DaRon Bland in Week 1, smothering Deshaun Watson‘s comeback effort. But the team has not gotten a chance to play Bland and Trevon Diggs together since September of last season. Bland’s IR-return designation leaves the 2023 All-Pro out of the picture until at least Week 5. While a late-August report suggested Bland could miss eight games due to the foot stress fracture he suffered, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes the Cowboys are optimistic Bland will be ready to return when first eligible.
This would be welcome news for a Cowboys team that has seen each of its preferred top three corners sustain a significant injury since 2022. Jourdan Lewis suffered a career-threatening Lisfranc injury that season, and Diggs tore an ACL in September. The latter issue moved Bland from the slot to the boundary, leading to his record-breaking five-pick-six performance last season. The Cowboys used fifth-round rookie Caelen Carson as their starter alongside Diggs in Cleveland.
Here is the latest from the NFC East:
- Devin White‘s role will be one to monitor when he debuts for the Eagles. The free agency addition missed Week 1, with Nakobe Dean starting alongside Zack Baun. Dean and Baun served as Vic Fangio‘s LB regulars in the Brazil game, and while White should still have a role upon debuting, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane notes Dean beat out the former Buccaneers top-five pick for a starting job. White was believed to be on track for a starting role before camp. The Eagles had planned for Dean to be their top linebacker last season, but two IR stints — because of a foot issue — changed that plan. Dean’s injury-plagued second season, after he backed up Kyzir White and T.J. Edwards as a rookie, led to the White and Baun signings. White is coming off a disappointing Bucs season, which ended with a reduced role. After previously aiming for a top-five ILB deal in 2023, White is on a one-year, $4MM contract.
- The Eagles lost four front office execs to assistant GM roles in 2022, leading Howie Roseman to rebuild his power structure. This resulted in both Alec Halaby and Jon Ferrari being elevated to the assistant GM role that had previously stood vacant despite the front office talent Roseman had stockpiled. Halaby interviewed for the Commanders and Panthers’ GM jobs during this year’s cycle, meeting about the Carolina gig twice. Ferrari should be expected to be summoned for GM meetings soon as well, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes (subscription required). Ferrari has been with the Eagles since 2016. Prior to the AGM bump, he worked mainly in the team’s compliance department.
- Both Nick McCloud and Gunner Olszewski are expected to miss time for the Giants. McCloud, who pushed for a starting cornerback spot in training camp, sustained a knee injury that could keep him out weeks, Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano notes. Olszewski sustained a groin injury and will miss extensive time. Both players re-signed on one-year deals this offseason.
- Staying with the Giants, the team used 2023 third-rounder Jalin Hyatt as its No. 4 wide receiver in Week 1. Hyatt played only 16 snaps against the Vikings, with Vacchiano indicating the Tennessee alum is “clearly behind” the Malik Nabers–Wan’Dale Robinson–Darius Slayton trio. This could certainly change if the Giants considered a Slayton trade — which they did not during the offseason — but the deep threat played at least 16 snaps in 15 of his 17 rookie-year games.
- The Cowboys were among the teams to create cap space recently. They restructured Terence Steele‘s contract, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates. This update creates $4.5MM in cap space for the team, one that just agreed to the most lucrative deal in NFL history (Dak Prescott‘s four-year, $240MM extension).
- Josh Harris will work with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO Tad Brown in running the search for the team’s next president, the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala tweets. The Commanders are searching for a successor to Jason Wright, who announced he will leave the post after the season.
Will people ever realize D Watson isn’t good?? lol.
He might be good at something. Just not NFL football.
Yeah, in the casting room.
Reminder that the Giants traded up to get Hyatt, only to basically never use him.
That looks like a minor mistake after watching Barkley’s opening week performance for the Eagles.
Olszewski injured his groin in the pre-game warmup on Sunday; Slayton took over as KR but is now in concussion protocol. Plus the Giants fans were chanting for Tommy DeVito even though he was QB3.
Not one week in and it’s just begun …
Kind of like your Jets, eh Chucky? Trade for Riddick knowing that the reason he’s even available is that he is demanding a contract and threatening to hold out. Then refuse to give him that contract and act surprised when he holds out.
Haason Reddick wouldn’t have helped on MNF cos the 49ers overran the Jet defense all night long, especially with their fill-in RB Jordan Mason. Should such continue in Nashville then it’ll be a problem.
I’m fine with Barkley being gone. A) they offered him several very fair contracts and he turned them down. No big deal, that’s his choice and I respect it. But more importantly, B) Barkley would have helped them win a few games. This team needs a top three pick. They need to be the worst team in the league to get a QB. Barkley would have helped them win 5-7 games and secure the 8th pick in the draft. Without Barkley they can properly tank.
More importantly than that, I’d add that the major reason that Barkley didn’t earn that big contract is the same reason that Philly could potentially experience a hiccup in between his big performances, which is injury. If you see a scenario where, hypothetically, Barkley misses a fourth of his contract games due to injury, how should his contract be evaluated? In Philly, it’s probably not as impactful, due to the sheer talent around the offense and the decent overall state of the team; in New York, Barkley’s absence would be far more noticeable, as Saquon would be a much more individually important part of the team.
Even then, if Barkley does miss significant time for injury (which may be less likely running behind one of the best lines in football), Philly potentially could experience a little buyer’s remorse. At the end of the day, the question really isn’t whether Saquon is good or not, it’s whether you’re willing to sustain some injury risk for what he can do-and how much risk you’re willing to take.
The Eagles moved off Swift who averages a fumble every 88 touches to Barkley who fumbles just once every 252 touches on average, so I don’t think that was a bad risk for Howie to take…even considering the injury possibilities.
Oh no, I don’t think that it was bad, but it is a concern. The Eagles shelling out for a running back in win now mode is much different than the Giants doing so, even with the attached injury risk that cones with him. Whether or not it is was the absolute right move right now is, to me, a separate discussion from which of the two teams that it made more sense for comparatively speaking.