East Notes: Cowboys, Moore, Eagles, Jets

When the offseason began, finding a backup quarterback seemed to be one of the Cowboys‘ top priorities. However, they wound up sticking with Kellen Moore. From the sound of it, the Cowboys are comfortable sticking with him as their No. 2 quarterback, even though Nick Foles appears to be available.

“He’s not a guy that overly impresses you physically,” head coach Jason Garrett said (link via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer). “He’s not an imposing figure when he walks into the room. He doesn’t have an overly powerful arm. He’s not overly athletic. But he has a lot of the things that really good quarterbacks have. He understands the game. He has a good feel for the game. He’s instinctive. He’s a very accurate passer. He’s a quick decision-maker. And he’s a very good leader.”

Here’s more out of the East divisions:

• Eagles coach Doug Pederson reiterated today that, barring injury, Sam Bradford will be his starting quarterback for Week 1 in September, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Recently, one Eagles beat reporter observed that rookie Carson Wentz seems to be picking up the new playbook faster than Bradford.
• Muhammad Wilkerson is an excellent player, but he lost his leverage with the Jets a year ago, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes. Mehta also feels that while Wilkerson is a difference-maker, Sheldon Richardson holds the mantle as the team’s best defensive lineman. Wilkerson, 26, enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2015, racking up a career-high 12 sacks and forcing three fumbles, to go along with 64 tackles. Arguably the best defensive player for the Jets last season, Wilkerson also earned his first Pro Bowl berth. Now, he’s looking for a big multi-year deal but it seems unlikely that he’ll get it from Gang Green this summer.
• Fletcher Cox and Darren Sproles have been MIA due to their gripes with the team, but the Eagles expect them to report next week.