NFC East Notes: Jalen Hurts, Joe Schoen, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Cowboys

• When taking a look at 2025’s top potential free agents, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler could see Cowboys G Zack Martin‘s time in Dallas coming to an end. 
• Although Fowler thinks bringing back Martin on a short-term deal makes sense, he points out that the sense around the team is they want to get younger. 
• As for DeMarcus Lawrence, Fowler believes the team would prioritize an extension for Micah Parsons instead of Lawrence. 
• In a different piece, Fowler says the feeling coming into the season was Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy needed a deep playoff push to earn a new contract. Now that the team is 3-6, Fowler thinks it’s hard to see a scenario where he saves his job. 
• Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown has bursitis in his right knee which will require treatment and rehab but it “does not appear to be a significant injury,” per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
• Dallas HC Mike McCarthy called RB Rico Dowdle their No. 1 running back: “He’s the lead back. Rico needs to touch the ball.” (Calvin Watkins)

Eagles

Eagles OT Jordan Mailata led a group of offensive linemen into HC Nick Sirianni‘s office to convince him to adopt a more run-centric approach on offense.

“It was just reminding him, ‘You have weapons in the air, on the ground and you have a hell of an O-line,‘” Mailata said, via ESPN. “We wanted to lead with, ‘Hey, before Saquon got here, you had us. Now you have us and Saquon. So use it.’”

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley said QB Jalen Hurts has taken the change of philosophy in stride and said that his primary focus is to win.

“[Hurts] likes winning,” Barkley said. “We all like winning. So whatever way it takes to win, that’s what we’re willing to do. I’m still training and keeping my body ready and whenever the team continues to need me to continue to take over a game and lean on the run game and lean on the offensive line, I’m willing to do [so]. At the same time, I know there’s going to be weeks where we’ll have to throw the ball. We’ve got A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts. … And that’s the beauty of this team: When you have so many talented people and so many stars on this team, when they’re all about winning football games, it makes it easier.”

Sirianni said he’s spoken with Hurts and the two got on the same page and are moving forward with the same goal in mind.

“I spent a lot of time with Jalen, obviously, during that bye week and just talking through things. Jalen had so much good insight, and then you always listen to your players as far as they are the ones out there seeing it and feeling it,” Sirianni said when asked about his meeting with the linemen. “And so I think it’s just good feedback. That’s just good organizational football, is to be communicating with everyone to get everyone on the same page. Yeah, I thought it was great. Great, productive meetings.”

Giants

Giants GM Joe Schoen doesn’t think they are far away from being a contending team and is pleased with the “young foundation” they’ve established around the team. 

“I’m excited about the young players that we have,” Schoen said, via ProFootballTalk. “The build is tough. It hurts sometimes as you’re going through it, but you’ve got to go through it to get to the other side. I like the young foundation that we’ve put in place.”