NFC East

Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Jalen Tolbert could emerge as a popular sleeper in fantasy football drafts over the final few weeks before the start of the 2022 season.

The pecking order among the Cowboys wide receivers has been up in the air throughout training camp as the team worked through the absences of Michael Gallup (knee) and James Washington (foot). Tolbert has done enough to earn a bigger role.

Jon Machota of The Athletic reported Tuesday the third-round pick out of South Alabama has "likely solidified" a spot in Dallas' starting lineup "even after Gallup returns."

CeeDee Lamb is the clear No. 1 target for quarterback Dak Prescott, but there should still be plenty of looks available for the Cowboys' other pass-catchers.

Tolbert proved capable of handling a high-volume role over his final two college seasons with the Jaguars, tallying 146 catches for 2,559 yards and 16 touchdowns in 23 games.

The key for Tolbert will be staying prepared to handle any role within the aerial attack as the Cowboys begin to get healthier at the position. It's something he's working on, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.

"I'm learning more and more about each position as I go," Tolbert said. "And so, me just being able to move around and understand more—in the game Saturday [against the Denver Broncos on Aug. 13], it was kind of flying around on me. Overall, I'm picking it up. I'm good. Now, I'm just working on being consistent."

Gallup ruled himself out for Week 1 and hasn't provided a timetable for his return to competitive action. Washington is expected to miss 6-10 weeks after suffering a fractured foot in early August.

It's possible the Cowboys' wideout room is a lot more crowded following the regular season's first month, but if Tolbert has built a rapport with Prescott by that point, there's a strong chance he'll continue to handle a key role.

That opportunity in one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses makes him well worth a late-round investment in fantasy drafts. He currently holds a 129.3 average draft position (via Yahoo Sports), placing him late in the 10th round of 12-team leagues.

If fantasy managers aren't confident in his season-long production, there's a strong chance he'll have a breakout game early in the campaign while Gallup and Washington are out, which would make for a perfect time to see what he could fetch in a trade.

Either way, you could do a lot worse with a 10th-round selection.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones got the start in Sunday's preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and although he tossed an interception, he had an overall solid outing.

The 25-year-old completed 14-of-16 passes for 116 yards and one interception before exiting. However, the turnover wasn't completely his fault, as tight end Daniel Bellinger should have caught the ball. Instead, it bounced off his hands and was picked by Dax Hill.

Jones also completed an impressive 14-yard pass to David Sills V.

Fans lauded Jones following his second consecutive preseason appearance, noting that he looks like a much more confident quarterback under new head coach Brian Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

The Giants selected Jones sixth overall in the 2019 NFL draft out of Duke, and he has been underwhelming over the last three seasons. However, he had to deal with the constant turnover of the coaching staff, which hasn't been ideal for his development.

The franchise expects Jones to take a big step forward in 2022 under new leadership, and if he doesn't, his time in New York might be over. The Giants declined his fifth-year option, and Jones will become an unrestricted free agent if he doesn't sign a new deal.

The Giants are slated to open the regular season on Sept. 11 against the Tennessee Titans.

New York Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after his knee injury suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday was diagnosed as a sprained MCL, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. However, the Giants are "hopeful" he will be ready to return for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 11.

Thibodeaux said he was "good" after suffering a knee injury:

Thibodeaux suffered the injury in the second quarter and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. A cart was initially brought out onto the field, but Thibodeaux walked to the sideline under his own power. After being evaluated in the medical tent, he went back to the locker room.

The injury to Thibodeaux occurred when Bengals tight end Thaddeus Moss blocked him low and collided with his right knee. Thibodeaux lay on the field for a while until the medical staff attended to him. Despite being ruled out for the game, he was seen walking around the sideline and laughing with teammates before going to the locker room.

The No. 5 pick in this year's draft, Thibodeaux is facing high expectations as New York's edge-rusher of the future. The 21-year-old recently told reporters he is hoping to break the franchise rookie record of 8.5 sacks set by Azeez Ojulari last year.

Thibodeaux has already made a strong impression throughout training camp on his coaches and teammates.

"I think he's a special player," Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson told Steve Serby of the New York Post. "I think he's got all the tools, obviously that's why he was picked where he was picked. I see a guy who's hungry, who's constantly working … and he's got a magnetic personality, I just see a good team guy that knows his role and is trying to get better every day. I appreciate his humbleness and work ethic."

While it appears Thibodeaux avoided a serious injury, it can be expected that the Giants will take a cautious approach with its prized draft pick.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is sick of the criticism surrounding his running style.

When asked by a reporter Friday if he's making an effort to run more "north-south," Barkley responded, via Sports Illustrated's Dan Lyons:

“This is probably the last time I’m going to speak on this. I know people want to say, ‘Dancing… He don’t get north-south,’ but I’m not going to just run into my linemen’s back. That’s not how I play the game, that’s not how I’ve been playing since I was eight years old. I’ve been playing the position for a very long time, and by no means am I the perfect running back, I’ve still got so much work to do...

“I know that’s been a conversation… ‘He don’t know what he’s doing, he’s just dancing back there.’ I’m really kind of fed up with people who’ve never played the position and try to speak on how I run the football. We call them All-Pros with clickers in their hand.”

Following New York's first preseason game against the New England Patriots, head coach Brian Daboll complimented Barkley's performance, saying he did a good job of moving the ball and "didn't dance."

Barkley responded to those comments Friday:

"When he says get north and south, he’s talking about the physicality of me trusting myself, me getting downhill… People are trying to use that as an example of me back there dancing. Dancing’s like stuff you do in high school, in little league football."

Barkley's best response to the criticism will be putting together a solid season. Injuries have limited him over the last couple of years, so everyone will be looking for him to bounce back in 2022.

The Giants selected Barkley No. 2 in the 2018 draft, and he went on to have an impressive rookie season, rushing for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns in 16 games, in addition to catching 91 passes for 721 yards four scores.

Barkley was named Offensive Rookie of the Year and earned a Pro Bowl selection.

The Penn State product's production dipped in his second season, but he was still productive as he rushed for 1,003 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games, in addition to catching 52 passes for 438 yards and two scores.

Barkley missed all but two games in 2020 after suffering a torn ACL and returned in 2021 to rush for just 593 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games, in addition to catching 41 passes for 263 yards and two scores.

Still, he wasn't fully healthy last season, which likely led to the dip in production.

If he's healthy in 2022, look for Barkley to turn in a solid year and play a significant role in the New York offense.

The Giants open the 2022 campaign against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 11.

Despite dealing with a hamstring injury, Miles Sanders is reportedly on track to play in the Philadelphia Eagles' regular-season opener against the Detroit Lions.

Per John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Sanders "should be ready" for Week 1 as he continues to recover from a sore and tight hamstring.

Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer added the Eagles don't consider the injury to be serious and Sanders could be back soon.

Sanders played eight snaps in Philadelphia's preseason opener against the New York Jets on Aug. 12. He caught two passes, and there was no indication during the game that anything was wrong physically.

In the Eagles' first practice after the game, Sanders didn't participate because of what the team was calling leg soreness. That was updated to a hamstring issue during Tuesday's practice.

During training camp last month, head coach Nick Sirianni brushed off the idea that Sanders may have been dropped down the depth chart when he was seen working with the second-team offense.

"I don't know where that came from," Sirianni told reporters July 30. "Our first three backs —Kenny [Gainwell], Miles [Sanders] and Boston [Scott] rotate in and out three plays in the first two sessions of the period. Those three guys rotate that area. Miles is our guy. There's no secret here."

On the same day, Sanders told the media his goal for 2022 is to "get the respect I deserve."

The Eagles selected Sanders in the second round of the 2019 draft out of Penn State. He has been a productive player with more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage and six total touchdowns each in 2019 and 2020.

Last season saw Sanders' production drop to 912 yards from scrimmage and zero touchdowns on 163 touches. Injuries have been a problem, as he's missed nine games in the past two seasons combined.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts led the team with 139 rushing attempts in 2021. Sanders was second with 137, followed by Scott (87) and Jordan Howard (86).

The Eagles play the Lions at Ford Field in Week 1 on Sept. 11.

Over the past six seasons, there haven't been many more prominent or prolific players for the Dallas Cowboys than running back Ezekiel Elliott. Since the Cowboys took the former Ohio State star with the fourth overall pick in 2016, Elliott has gained 7,386 yards on the ground. He has topped 1,000 rushing yards four times—including last year. He has led the league in rushing twice. Been named to three Pro Bowls. And scored 68 total touchdowns.

With the exception of quarterback Dak Prescott, Elliott has been as much the face of the franchise as anyone. He's a superstar.

But the life of a running back in the NFL can be a harsh one. All those yards have taken a toll on the 27-year-old. His lofty salary is taking a toll on the Cowboys' salary cap. And as Elliott gets ready for his seventh season in Dallas, there's a very real chance this Cowboy will be gone come spring.

Now, you won't hear the Cowboys talking about Elliott's days in Dallas being numbered. While speaking to reporters at training camp, team owner Jerry Jones told reporters that while Dallas needs to get fellow running back Tony Pollard more involved offensively, Elliott remains the straw that stirs the drink for the Cowboys in the backfield:

"We gotta have Tony Pollard out there. No, seriously, Zeke's gotta be our feature, and he is our feature. We can feature him in a lot of different ways. We all recognize what he does in the passing game because of his protection ability. Don't ever underestimate that especially with Zeke. Zeke takes some tolls when he's out there as a back blocking. So it's critical that we make Zeke -- because he's capable of being that -- really the focus of what we're doing. Now then, Pollard, there's plenty of room for Pollard. There's plenty of room for Pollard when Zeke's in there. Pollard needs to get the ball."

It's true that Elliott is one of the best pass-blocking backs in the NFL. And he got his on the ground last year as well—Elliott's 1,002 rushing yards ranked seventh in the league. He scored 10 touchdowns on the ground, caught the ninth-most passes (47) among running backs and helped power the Cowboys to 12 wins and an NFC East title.

Per the team's website, Elliott said he expects the ground game to be the offense's catalyst this season.

"If we can run the ball efficiently and control the line of scrimmage, we'll be that much better of an offense," Zeke said. "That's the type of tone I try to set every time I step on the field, period."

That's all well and good. In fact, Elliott may well be right; with wide receiver Amari Cooper gone and fellow wideouts Michael Gallup and James Washington set to miss time to open the season, Prescott and the Cowboys may have to lean on Elliott and the ground game even more than usual this season.

But a heavier workload for Elliott in 2022 would just be one more reason to move on in the offseason.

The first reason is an enormous black cloud looming over the franchise: Elliott's abomination of a contract.

In 2019, the Cowboys signed Elliott to a massive six-year, $90 million contract extension. Even some three years later, it remains the largest pact for a player at his position by $15 million over New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. His $15 million average annual salary is tied with Kamara for the second-highest in the league among backs. The $28 million and change in guarantees trails only Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers and Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants. After restructuring the deal to help create cap space, Elliott carries a staggering $18.2 million cap hit for 2022.

That's a cap-wrecking number for a running back. There are some positions where most teams budget for big deals. Quarterbacks make a fortune. So do elite cornerbacks, edge-rushers and offensive tackles. But more teams than not look to keep costs low at running back. The money going to Elliott is money that can't be used to attract other players or re-up Dallas' own. It's part of the reason Cooper was dumped in the offseason.

Elliott's cap hit in 2023 isn't much better—$16.7 million. But where $12.4 million of his 2022 money is guaranteed, none of next year's is. Dallas could shave over $10 million off the cap by saying goodbye to Elliott in the offseason.

That's hardly a state secret, but Elliott told reporters last month that he's focused on the upcoming season and not what comes after it:

"I think it is a big season, but I think you can't look too far down the road. I think if I focus on every day, if I focus on having a good day of camp, if I focus on taking it week by week, I think everything will handle itself. And I don't think there's really a reason to look that far down the road. I think if I handle my business every day, then I'll be in a pretty good situation at the end of the season."

The problem with that statement is that while Elliott may still handle his business, he doesn't do so as well as he once did.

In his rookie season, Elliott led the league in carries with 322, paced the NFL in rushing with 1,631 yards and ranked fifth among all running backs with over 100 attempts at 5.1 yards per carry. In 2018, he again led the league in attempts (304) and rushing yards (1,434) but averaged 4.7 yards a carry—17th in the league.

Fast-forward to 2021, and while Elliott got past the 1,000-yard mark, it was just barely. He averaged just 4.2 yards per carry last season—28th in the NFL.

As a rookie, Elliott gained 108.7 yards per game on the ground—tops in the league. That number has since dropped each and every year. Last year, it was down to 58.9 yards per game—17th in the NFL.

This isn't to say that Elliott isn't still a good running back. But he hasn't played like a great running back the past couple of years. It looks like 1,938 career touches and all those pass-pro reps have taken a toll. Elliott just hasn't displayed the explosiveness in recent seasons that he possessed in earlier years.

Add in that Dallas also has to make a decision on whether to re-sign Pollard, who is younger and averaged 1.3 more yards per carry in his first season with 1,000 total yards in 2021, and just about every sign points to this being the end of the line for Elliott in Dallas.

Maybe it won't be. Maybe Elliott will be amenable to a pay cut to stay with his buddy from the class of 2016. But that's not likely.

The Cowboys badly need all the cap space they can get with extensions for the likes of CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons coming. The team has a replacement back already on the roster in Pollard. And as great as Elliott has been, he's not the player he once was.

This ride is all but certainly coming to an end. Like it or not, after the 2022 season, Ezekiel Elliott is going to ride off into the sunset.

Every Cowboy does sooner or later.

It's a big "thanks but no thanks" from Jerry Jones on the prospect of signing Antonio Brown.

The Dallas Cowboys owner denied any interest in bringing in Brown, who publicly called on Jones to sign him last week.

"We're good. We want to give these young guys a real chance to make this team," Jones told TMZ Sports.

Brown, a seven-time Pro Bowler who last played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, remains a free agent and does not appear to have much interest around the NFL. The 34-year-old spoke to TMZ last week and said "tell Jerry Jones to call me" when asked about his future in football.

The Cowboys have concerns on their wide receiver depth chart behind CeeDee Lamb. Michael Gallup is recovering from a torn ACL and is not expected to be ready for Week 1. No other Dallas wideout has made 50 catches in an NFL season. The Cowboys used a third-round pick on Jalen Tolbert in April, but the history of third-round receivers being instant-impact players isn't great.

In a world where Antonio Brown does not come with Antonio Brown-level baggage, Dallas would be a perfect fit. Brown used to be one of the best route-runners on the planet and was having a productive season last year in Tampa (42 catches, 545 yards, four touchdowns in seven games) until he decided to pull a midgame Magic Mike and get himself cut.

Brown's personality and history of off-field issues make him borderline radioactive. Perhaps there was a time in Jones' past when he would have taken a chance on buying low; the Cowboys have never shied away from controversial but talented figures.

That said, the bridge on Brown's NFL career appears to be appropriately torched.

Dallas Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb had to miss Wednesday's practice with a foot injury.

Per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, the receiver didn't participate in the team's joint session with the Los Angeles Chargers, but Cowboys officials don't believe it is a serious issue.

Lamb later said he was "fine":

Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News posted a picture of Lamb walking around without a protective boot:

It's unclear when Lamb suffered the injury. The Cowboys and Chargers will play a preseason game at SoFi Stadium on Saturday.

Injuries haven't been a big issue for Lamb in his career. The Oklahoma alum suffered a concussion in Dallas' 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11 last season and was forced to sit out the Thanksgiving Day game against the Las Vegas Raiders. It's the only game he's missed through his first two seasons.

Losing Lamb for any period will have a significant impact on the Cowboys offense. They no longer have as much depth at wide receiver as they did in 2021 after trading Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns during the offseason.

James Washington is expected to miss six to 10 weeks with a fractured foot, and Michael Gallup has already said he will miss Week 1 as he recovers from a torn ACL.

Lamb established himself as Dak Prescott's No. 1 option in 2021. He led the team with 79 receptions and 1,102 yards in 16 games.

The Cowboys are looking to build off last season's success when they won the NFC East with a 12-5 record.