August 3 Training Camp Notes: Cowboys add LB Anthony Barr, NFL appeals Deshaun Watson's suspension and more

NFL Appeals Deshaun Watson’s Six-Game Suspension

• The NFL decided six games for Watson was not enough, and they’re now appealing disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson’s decision.
• The appeal will be heard by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell or his designee, and the NFL is expected to appeal for an indefinite suspension. The league could also seek a fine and/or player treatment.
• The NFLPA would then be allowed to respond and potentially sue the league and take the matter to court. 
• One other possibility is the NFL and NFLPA could look to have settlement talks to avoid things dragging out. Before the six-game suspension was announced, the NFL offered to suspend Watson for 12 weeks along with a $10 million fine. The NFLPA rejected that.

Cowboys sign LB Anthony Barr

• It’s a one-year, $3 million deal for Barr in Dallas.
• Barr spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Vikings after being drafted ninth overall in 2014. 
• He finished last season with a respectable 63.8 overall grade and a 72.6 pass-rush grade.
• The team wanted to add veteran insurance alongside Leighton Vander Esch, especially considering how the Cowboys split Micah Parsons’ playing time between linebacker and edge rusher in 2021.

Cardinals sign LT D.J. Humphries To Three-Year Extension

• Humphries was entering the final year of his deal and is now under contract through 2025. It’s a three-year, $66.8 million extension, though the full structure of the deal is currently unknown.
• A first-round pick in 2015, Humphries has started 75 games for Arizona and was voted to his first Pro Bowl last season.
• He finished 2021 with a 67.8 PFF grade, along with a 70.9 run-blocking grade and a 65.5 pass-blocking grade.
• He has never graded under 64.5, and his best season came in 2020 when he earned an 88.3 PFF grade.

CB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson looking for extension from Saints

• Gardner–Johnson is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to make $2.54 million in 2022.
• Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported that Gardner-Johnson has limited his participation in camp, so he’s essentially a hold-in.
• A fourth-round pick in 2019, Johnson is known by most for his trash-talking and ability to get in opponents' heads, but he’s also turned into one of the better slot cornerbacks in the league.
• He earned a respectable 69.1 coverage grade in 2021, which puts him in the upper half of starting slot cornerbacks, and he’s also made more plays on the ball in the slot than anyone since entering the league in 2018 (24).

S Tyrann Mathieu reports to Saints training camp

• Mathieu was away for the first eight days of camp due to a personal family matter.
• He signed with his hometown Saints this offseason on a three-year, $28.3 million contract.
• Mathieu will team up in the secondary with another free agent addition in Marcus Maye. 
• Mathieu has shown incredible versatility over the past few years, playing over 600 snaps in deep, box and slot alignments in every season since 2019. He’s also consistently been on the field, averaging over 1,000 snaps per season since 2017.
• He finished 2021 with a 67.3 PFF grade and a 76.4 coverage grade.