March 02, 2019
With the NFL Combine well underway in Indianapolis, perhaps we should take a quick peek around at what the other teams in the NFC East are up to. Let's go one-by-one.
• TE Jason Witten is rejoining the team: Lol. Witten's legs were already shot when he last played in 2017, and now he's back on a one-year deal worth either $5 million or $3.5 million, depending on whatever report you believe. Either way, that is money better spent on new talent or any one of the half dozen or so contract extensions the Cowboys need to get done sometime this offseason. What are they doing?
Witten spent one season in the booth on Monday Night Football, and he was objectively one of the worst color commentators in the history of the NFL. Personally, I'm going to miss him in that role.
• David Irving was suspended indefinitely by the league: Irving is a good player, and was scheduled to be a free agent this offseason. The Cowboys probably weren't going to bring him back anyway, but it's yet another suspension for a team that also just saw Randy Gregory and Terrence Williams get suspended.
• Praise for Eli Manning by the head coach and general manager: Pat Shurmur said he "fully expects" Eli will be back in 2019. Meanwhile, Dave Gettleman said the following in his media session with reporters:
"The narrative around Eli for the past four years, five years since I was gone was really negative. The narrative’s been negative. And there’s an old saying tell a lie long enough you’ll believe it. The narrative is so negative that when you take that position, most people struggle getting off that spot. Most people struggle saying I’m gonna look at this with fresh eyes. So for example, when you evaluate pro players, every year’s a new year. When you evaluate him, it’s a new year. Yes, before, he was at this level, but that doesn’t mean when you look at him he’s automatically at this level or at this level. You’ve got to take everything for what it’s worth at that time. And I think that the narrative has been negative, and I don’t think it’s been fair.”
This team is so screwed.
• DE Olivier Vernon is on the trade block: In 2016, Vernon signed a five-year, $85 million deal. He is scheduled to count for $19.5 million against the cap, and the team will incur a dead money hit of $8 million if they trade or release him. Any team trading for him would have him on their cap for $15,250,000. Good luck getting anyone to bite on that.
Vernon averaged just over 7 sacks per season in his three years in New Jersey.
• Washington has interest in trading for Antonio Brown: Lol, what?
The three teams that have shown the most interest in wide receiver Antonio Brown to date are the Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans, per league sources. Thus, the battle for Brown could develop into a battle between Grudens, Jon and Jay.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 2, 2019
I think this tweet about sums it up:
Putting Antonio Brown on the Redskins is like putting a racing stripe on a minivan.
— Pat Thorman (@Pat_Thorman) March 2, 2019
But seriously, who is even throwing the ball to Brown if the Redskins were to trade for him? This is the exact type of short-sighted move that will get people to keep buying tickets even though the team is nowhere remotely close to contending for a Super Bowl. Classic Dan Snyder.
So, nothing positive to say about the rest of the NFC East, Jimmy? I tried to find something, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
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