Cowboys
Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams said the Jets knew he was frustrated with their lack of success during his tenure there.
“They knew I was frustrated. I think the world knew I was frustrated being there so long and still losing,” Williams said, via ESPN. “But like I say, any ultra-competitor, man, any guy who plays this game to win is going to be frustrated no matter if you win 100 games and lose that one, or when I was at Bama I went 16-1 and lost the national championship — I was frustrated.”
Dallas has placed an emphasis on having a strong interior defensive line, and Williams should be a significant upgrade to the unit.
“He’s just a difference-maker, the ability to affect the interior part of the pocket from a pass-rush standpoint,” HC Brian Schottenheimer said. “For us, there’s certain calls you make, you’re very aware he’s in the game because he’s so disruptive. We had alerting calls when he was out of the game, we had to set protections based on him. You guys see it. You see the talent. I love the play style, just the way the guy plays and the way the guy runs to the football.”
Since the Cowboys are on bye, Williams will have an extra week to get accustomed to his new defense.
“It’s definitely weird. It’s my first time getting traded, so it’s definitely weird,” Williams said. “I’m definitely attacking it like it’s a game week for me; I’m just not playing on Sunday. I’m prepping, working out, training, conditioning hard like I’m preparing for a game because I did have a bye last week. I’m trying to stay in game shape and doing the things that are necessary. When it’s time for me to suit up and be ready for the Cowboys, I’ll be ready.”
Eagles
Eagles GM Howie Roseman continued to place an emphasis on the defensive line and their pass rush after adding OLB Jaelan Phillips from the Dolphins.
“Our best teams — we’ve been fortunate to be in three Super Bowls over the last eight years — and they’ve been led by our front, and you can never have enough pass rush,” Roseman said, via The Inquirer. “You can never have enough cover corners, and they’re hard to find. And so getting another player who can get pressure on the quarterback in key situations, you know those guys are always going to be paramount to our success.”
Eagles DC Vic Fangio said that he doesn’t have any influence over Roseman’s personnel decisions and said his input in that department is “minuscule.” Roseman refuted and said that Fangio’s input is taken well into consideration.
“I don’t know that there’s an adjective lower than ‘minuscule,’ so I think that that would certainly not be fair to say that his influence is minuscule,” Roseman said. “We talk a lot about a lot of things, but I’d say there’s a lot of trust.”
Roseman and Fangio have recently prioritized versatile inside linebackers that can play a number of roles.
“Have we changed what we believe in? When you look at our inside linebackers, these guys can affect the passing game,” Roseman said. “They can affect the passing game rushing from depth. They can reset the front by coming up on the edge. They can play in space. They can cover people in space.”
Giants
- According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Broncos, Giants and Steelers were among the teams that inquired for Dolphins WR Jaylen Waddle, but Miami’s asking price of a first-round pick and possibly more was too steep.
- Fowler adds the Giants didn’t get trade interest in OL Evan Neal or WR Jalin Hyatt, and the latter might be in line for an expanded role in the second half of the season.
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