It was a given we'd be hearing from Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and team executives about the state of the franchise, so to speak, this week during the NFL Scouting Combine.
It isn't just the Cowboys dropping news bombs in Indianapolis, though. Nearly every club in the NFL makes itself available to the media at the combine – front office and coaches alike. With that in mind, I figured I'd take a look at some of the stories coming out of the rest of the NFC East.
No Trading Cousins
It became really easy to tell that a case of Quarterback Fever had gripped the Cowboys' fanbase just a few weeks into the offseason. It's one thing to wonder if the team might draft a hot young quarterback, like Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater.
In the past few weeks, though, I've gotten multiple emails from fans wondering if the team should trade with Washington for Kirk Cousins and start all over. Yes, I am serious.
I don't know how much sense that makes for the Cowboys, but Cousins is certainly some enticing trade bait for the Redskins, despite his mediocre showing at the end of the 2013 season. All that said, reports surfaced Friday that Washington doesn't have any interest in dealing their backup quarterback at this point in time.
There's absolutely no doubt that Robert Griffin III is going to be the starter when the Jay Gruden era kicks off in the fall. But with his injury history, it makes sense to want a quality backup behind Griffin. [embedded_ad]
New Receivers?
DeSean Jackson had a career year in his first go-around with Chip Kelly's offense. The Eagles also boast the NFL's rushing champion in LeSean McCoy, and tight ends Brent Celek and Zach Ertz make a nice combo.
There are all kinds of questions surrounding the rest of Philly's receiving corps, though. Riley Cooper, who stepped up and had a fantastic season as the team's No. 2, is a free agent. Jeremy Maclin, who was originally slated to be Eagles' No. 2 before he tore his ACL in training camp, is also a free agent.
To hear it from Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, we might be done seeing both players in Philadelphia colors.
"We're trying to figure out the whole dynamics of it," Roseman told reporters at the Combine on Thursday. "You can only put a limited amount of resources at a particular position before it starts taking out from other places. And then you've got to factor in the quality and the depth in the draft."
Those don't sound like a man who's planning on spending a boatload of money on free agent receivers, especially with the amount of young talent at wide receiver in this year's draft.
Like all free agent situations around this time of year, only time will tell if Cooper, Maclin or both are offered deals enticing enough offers to draw them away from Philadelphia.
Not Going Anywhere
It says a lot about the competitive nature of the NFL that a coach who has won two Super Bowls would face questions about his job security. But if you can remember back to the midway point of the season, when Tom Coughlin's Giants were 0-6, it was a legitimate discussion around the league.
Coughlin obviously survived the season, as the Giants rebounded to finish 7-9. It seems like the Giants are set on avoiding that uncertainty going forward, as Coughlin confirmed Friday that he has signed a one-year extension that keeps him with the team through the 2015 season.
There has been plenty of talk of Garrett's "lame duck" status in Dallas, as Cowboys owner/general manager has decided not to extend his coach beyond the 2014 season. This extension seems like an effort to quell that same uncertainty going into this season.
Of course, if New York goes winless to open the first two months of the season once again, I doubt any of that will amount to much.
