NFC East notebook: Do the Eagles believe they have a franchise quarterback?

Welcome to the July 14th edition of the NFC East Notebook. Your weekly source of news around the NFC East. We will start off in the City of Brotherly Love and some internal questioning around the current QB1 in Philladelphia.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jalen Hurts has been a polarizing quarterback since being taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. There are those that point to his stats and think Hurts has a high ceiling in the NFL. Then some see anticipation issues and being too quick to take off before the pocket breaks down and think that he will be a quarterback you win with and not one you win because of.

Derrick Gunn, who is pretty well connected with the team, had some intriguing insight on what the Eagles think about Hurts on JAKIB media’s Sports Take.

“When I asked a few people back in late May about where Jalen Hurts was in his progress, one person said ‘Let me just give you a scenario of what he went through in one day of practice. It’s a 10-play scenario. He had three picks, four incompletions, and three sacks.’ That was his 10-play series, OK.

And I followed up with ‘So what are you thinking?’ And the answer was, the direct answer was: ‘He’s got a ways to go.’ And that’s not very encouraging when you hear all this offseason news [about how] he’s working with this quarterback guru, he’s working on his mechanics, he has a second year in Nick Sirianni’s playbook.

It makes sense that those within the organization still have some reservations about Hurts. While the team has very publicly supported the quarterback, the team did kick the tires on Russell Wilson and DeShaun Watson. The team also traded for a future first-round pick from the New Orleans Saints to ensure that they had all options open. So while they can say that they are confident Jalen Hurts is their guy, the team continues to make moves that don’t necessarily show the same confidence.

• See SB Nation’s Bleeding Green Nation for more about the Eagles

Dallas Cowboys

Another week, another Sean Payton and the Dallas Cowboys rumor. One of what seems to be the worst kept secrets in the NFL is that Mike McCarthy could be on the way out after this season and that Sean Payton would be a likely candidate to fill that role.

According to a recent report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Harold, the Cowboys are on his preferred shortlist that includes two other teams.

The source - emphasizing that Payton would never lobby for a filled job - said Miami is among the teams that would interest him, and he knows that first-hand. But the associate said he could also see Dallas and the Chargers among other teams that would interest Payton should their jobs become open.

There seems to have been a long-standing infatuation between Payton and the Cowboys. It’s also hard to see the Miami Dolphins firing Mike McDaniel after only one season. It feels like the only thing McCarthy can do to hold on to this job is to deliver a Lombardi Trophy to Jerry Jones at this point.

• See SB Nation’s Blogging The Boys for more about the Cowboys

Washington Commanders

It’s quite amazing with each passing year that Dan Snyder still has not been removed from the NFL. It’s surprising with how quick the NBA is to distance itself from troublesome owners that the NFL has yet to follow suit. Snyder is still dealing with ongoing legal issues and has now he has refused to accept the subpoena of the House Oversight Committee to testify.

Both parties have been going back and forth for months about his potential testimony about his role in running a toxic workplace with multiple accusations of sexual harassment and abuse. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified before the Committee last month, but Snyder said he had previous team-related commitments out of the country. Snyder will only accept to testify voluntarily which would allow him to refuse to discuss anything covered in the NDA.

Overall this continues to be a terrible look for the Washington Commanders and the NFL. With the lack of on-field success on top of the continued missteps off of it, I’m sure most people that follow the team will hope that Goodell and the rest of the league will take steps to remove Snyder.

• See SB Nation’s Hogs Haven for more about the Commanders