NFC East Notes: RGIII ‘comfortable' playing Week 1

For the Redskins, the biggest question mark with training camp about two months away is the health of starting quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Griffin suffered a torn ACL in Washington’s 24-14 playoff loss to the Seahawks. He underwent surgery, and was expected to miss six to eight months. The 2012 No. 2 overall pick was hoping to be ready by the start of training camp.

But if that doesn’t come to fruition, RGIII is ready to play Week 1 regardless.

“I’ve thought about that and yeah, I would be comfortable with that,” Griffin told the Washington Post (via ProFootballTalk). “That’s all I can say. I have no control over whether I play in the preseason or not. I would be comfortable running out of the tunnel at FedEx Field with the smoke and everything.”

In his rookie season, Griffin threw for 3,200 yards with 20 touchdowns and completed 65.6 percent of his passes - second-highest behind Ben Roethlisberger among NFL rookie quarterbacks in league history. He picked up an additional 815 yards - a NFL record for a rookie QB - and seven scores on the ground.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan won’t take any chances with Griffin. Rushing the young star QB back stands to lose the ‘Skins too much, and when Kirk Cousins is lurking in the background, it makes sense to be patient with Griffin.

The Redskins host the Eagles Sept. 9 on Monday Night Football to open the season.

Giants: Thomas switching positions?
Terrell Thomas has had a rough go the last couple of years in the NFL.

In each of the past two seasons, the 2008 second-round pick tore his ACL in his right knee twice in addition to a third time while he was in college, playing at USC.

The Giants’ cornerback is attempting a comeback, but this time, he may be switching positions.

According to the New York Post (via ProFootballTalk), Giants general manager Jerry Reese has thought about moving the 6-foot-0, 191-pound Thomas from corner to safety.

“Your knee is in a more unstable situation [at cornerback,]” Thomas said. “You have to react to the receiver. Safety is more you’re dictating. So I think that’s why Jerry Reese said that.

But I already knew I’d switch to safety later in my career just because of my body type, the way I play. So I’m not scared at all. If they tell me I’m going to play kicker, I’ll play kicker.”

Thomas hasn’t participated in any of the Giants’ offseason activities yet. But he’s hopeful that he can return fully healthy this season.

“I’m very optimistic right now,” he said. “My knee is doing great, it’s progressing nicely. I think everybody is just crossing our fingers and being very positive.”

Cowboys: Williams happy to be a Cowboy
When the Dallas Cowboys selected him in the third round of last month’s NFL draft, Terrance Williams could not have been happier.

Growing up in Dallas, Williams was a life-long Cowboys fan. He went to Baylor University where he caught 105 balls for 1,502 yards and 15 touchdowns in four years.

Williams recently was on ESPN Radio 1250 AM in San Antonio (via The Dallas Morning News) and expressed his desire to play for the Cowboys.

“Just to get a chance to play for a team that you love,” Williams said, “a team you grew up watching, it’s true privilege for me to play for them. That’s something that I would never take for granted.”

Sometimes when you’re drafted by your hometown team, friends and family can be a little bit of a hassle. But for Williams, there haven’t been any issues in that field.

“That hasn’t been a problem for me.” Williams said. “I do a great job of continuing to come into the Cowboys’ facility there to just work and keep all that stuff on the low.

“The main thing that helps me out is when I go, I just cut off my phone, because it’s just strictly Cowboys. Nothing should be more important than that. When I’m finally heading home that’s finally my chance to talk to my family members and fans.”