NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Frederick, Giants

The biggest advantage for the Cowboys in the Travis Frederick deal comes in the length of the pact, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. Dallas locked Frederick in at ~$10MM in for the sixth year (2023) while other centers with comparable deals are free agents after five. If he maintains his level of play, that 2023 salary should be a discount of a few million if the cap continues to rise. Centers generally have long careers, so there’s a good chance that Frederick will still be a solid player at that point. Ultimately, if Dallas is able to get through 2017 without restructuring Frederick’s deal, this will be a great contract for the Cowboys as Dallas will have virtually no future risk, Fitzgerald writes.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

• Cowboys tight end James Hanna will have knee surgery which could cause him to miss time during the regular season, multiple sources tell Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Hanna was placed on the PUP list at the start of training camp which means that he can go on the PUP list when final cuts are made. If Dallas goes that route, he’ll miss the first six games of the season and return for the Oct. 30 contest against Philadelphia. Hanna, the No. 2 tight end behind Jason Witten, inked a three-year deal to stay with the Cowboys this offseason. If Hanna is not ready for the season opener, Gavin Escobar and Geoff Swaim could have improved chances of locking down a spot on the 53-man roster.
• James Kratch of NJ.com sees the Giants keeping running backs Rashad Jennings, Shane Vereen, Andre Williams, and Paul Perkins, leaving Orleans Darkwa, Bobby Rainey, and Marshaun Coprich on the outs. Williams, he says, is clearly ahead of Darkwa in the minds of coaches and Rainey likely cost himself any chance of making the squad when he had a fumble in last week’s preseason game.
• DGB to PHI. The Eagles acquired talented wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham from the Titans on Tuesday morning.
• After watching rookie Dak Prescott perform well on Friday night, the Cowboys say they are content with their backup quarterback situation.