NFC East Roundup: Talking contracts & hate

The window gets shorter and shorter every single year.

But for now at least, there is still a time when the NFL shuts down.

A brief quiet period descends in mid-June and lasts till mid-July, when the league’s vast media machine takes a breather, puts on its Out Of Office notice and goes sailing with Billy Belichick.

Yet even during the NFL’s summer siesta, news — like life — happens.

(But hey, no arrests for a change!... yet.)

Here are some of the (not-really) big stories around the NFC East this week:

Dallas Cowboys

The news in Dallas remains focused on the Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper contract negotiations.

Blogging The Boys’ David Howman tells us that Cooper’s market value could rise just as Prescott’s has.

Prescott probably will benefit from Russell Wilson’s lucrative new deal. And similarly, Cooper could cash in even more as the Atlanta Falcons talk extension with Julio Jones and the New Orleans Saints do the same with Michael Thomas.

On the other end of the NFL pay scale, Danny Phantom (do you think that’s his real name?!?) informs us that undrafted free agent signee Mitch Hyatt is a good bet to make the Cowboys’ 53 — but that no one should be surprised. (But I like surprises!)

Hyatt, a two-time All-American tackle out of Clemson, was highly sought-after following the draft. The Cowboys nabbed him as insurance, and he has stood out this off-season.

Of course, this would be bigger news in New York if the Giants had a pass rusher worth discussing…

OK, moving along.

In the Scandal of the Century, NFL.com ranked the top running backs in the NFL… and made Cowboys fans wait until No. 4 to list Ezekiel Elliott.

Take a minute if you need it. I understand.

(Guess who’s No. 1. Seriously. Guess. ... Yup, your N.Y. Giants’ Saquon Barkley.)

The outrage is palpable.

Philadelphia Eagles

Speaking of outrage...

Things are slow in Philly right now. (I guess Bryce Harper is still a thing there occupying their time.)

Things are so slow that the talk in the City of Brotherly Hate is… Dak.

Yeah, you read that right.

Bleeding Green Nation’s Michael Kist doesn’t think backing up the Brink’s truck to Jerry’s World and making it rain for Prescott is a smart idea.

(I apologize. I should know by now that Jerry Jones only makes it rain in Dallas’ most exclusive gentlemen’s clubs. Sorry for the confusion, folks.)

But still.

Kist even did a Twitter poll, in which 66 percent of respondents — presumably Eagles fans — say they wouldn’t pay Prescott $34 million per year.

That smells like an unhealthy fixation to me.

In more Philly-centric news, Dave Mangels addresses how the Eagles’ weak schedule is misleading. Then he goes on to scare Iggle fans by telling them it’s sorta difficult.

(And there’s a chart!)

In other news, Alexis Chassen has a sense of humor.

“Julie Ertz’s husband” indeed.

There’s no question who the best athlete is in that family.

Washington Redskins

Trent Williams had another surgery involving that mysterious tumor on his head.

Scott Jennings tells us it’s going to be OK. So that’s good.

Meanwhile, Tom Landry or Jimmy Johnson?

Bill Parcells or Tom Coughlin?

Joe Gibbs or ... Jay Gruden?

Bill-in-Bangkok breaks down the current state of NFC East coaches and puts it all in context with a little history lesson. It’s an interesting read.

And because I can’t get enough of Bill-In-Bangkok, he discusses his writing process and digs a little deeper on former Notre Dame defensive tackle Jonathan Bonner… then tells us Bonner probably won’t crack the Skins’ D-line rotation… or the roster out of camp.

Bonner was a stalwart blocker eater for the Irish, but not a playmaker on a line with first-round pick Jerry Tillery and potential first-rounders Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara.

But hey, it was still insightful.