NFC East Notebook: Eagles players united on Colin Kaepernick stance

The New York Giants are making a serious push in 2017, as evidenced by the moves they’ve made in free agency. We won’t recount them, you already know Big Blue signed Brandon Marshall, Rhett Ellison and D.J. Fluker among others. Talk around the rest of the East has been slow of late, with the league being a couple weeks into free agency and a month out from the NFL Draft. Still, we’ll spin the rest of the division.

Philadelphia Eagles

Two Eagles players stand up for Colin Kaepernick | BGN

For as much as people love saying “Stick to sports!” it sure doesn’t seem like that’s what NFL owners are doing here. A pair of Eagles players believe what’s happening to Kaepernick is wrong and they’re expressing their opinions accordingly.

Colin Kaepernick might be the most polarizing athlete of the past decade, based solely on his decision to kneel during the National Anthem, in protest of how minorities are treated by police. That began in August of 2016. Here we are in March 2017 and Kap, though he says he’ll stand for the Anthem again next season, is no longer on an NFL roster. Malcom Jenkins and Torrey Smith aren’t saying anything we don’t know - Kaepernick’s lack of suitors probably has very little to do with football. He’s an adequate-to-good backup quarterback option. There are probably a handful of teams he’d still start for (Jets, Browns, Texans, Jaguars, Vikings, Rams). It’s early yet, I’d expect his employment status to change between now and September.

Eagles will reportedly work out Joe Mixon and Dalvin Cook | BGN

The Eagles will work out 2017 NFL Draft running back prospects Joe Mixon and Dalvin Cook next week, according to Howard Eskin. (Hat tip to Philly Football Talk).

“Next week, I believe the Eagles are working out those two running backs that everybody has questions about,” said Eskin in a Thursday appearance on SportsRadio 94WIP. “So that will be interesting too.”

Mixon and Cook are believed to be two of the most talented running backs in this year’s draft class. Both players also come with significant off field concerns. In the case of Mixon, he was caught on camera punching a woman in the face. As a result, she suffered a broken jaw.

From one controversial player to another, the Eagles seem intent on stirring the pot this Spring. Joe Mixon can and has been meeting with NFL teams over the past few weeks, and is eligible to be drafted. He wasn’t, however, eligible for the Scouting Combine, an NFL imposed penalty for his violent encounter with female student, Amelia Molitor back in 2014. Philly has the need; do they have an early enough pick (14) and would they be willing to deal with the media firestorm which would surely follow?

Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys Draft 2017: The Strategy Is Likely A Secondary Overhaul | BtB

By letting the likes of Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr, Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox all walk in free agency; the Cowboys seem primed to revamp the entire backside of their defense. Looking at the quality of defensive backs in this draft class, can you really blame them?

The Cowboys may be leaning toward a complete shuffle in their secondary, and why shouldn’t they? They were already use to seeing Odell Beckham Jr. twice a year, now add Brandon Marshall, Terrelle Pryor Sr., Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith to the list of NFC East receivers they’ll meet twice in 2017. It’d be wise the Cowboys to bolster their secondary, especially coming off a season where they allowed 260.4 yards passing per game, seventh-worst in the league.

Washington Redskins

Ten Reasons the Redskins Red-Zone Offense Will Improve | HH

A few years ago, I shared with you the fact that the Redskins had the smallest receiving corps in the league, and I told you how that might be a problem for them in the red zone. Well, guess what? With Terrelle Pryor and Josh Doctson on the outside, that's not a problem anymore.

James Dorsett, our friend at Hogs Haven, doesn’t foresee the Skins having trouble scoring in the redzone next season. With Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis, now being joined on the outside by Pryor, they figure to improve inside the 20. At least on paper. Here’s the problem, however: the three combined for 14 touchdowns last year, just four more than Beckham had himself.

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