NFC Notes: Carson Wentz, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

Commanders

Regarding the Commanders’ Week 3 matchup against the Eagles, QB Carson Wentz said he’ll have “mixed emotions” facing the organization that drafted him.

“[I have] a lot of really good memories from my time there, I’m not going to lie,” Wentz said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “A lot of great friends, a lot of great relationships that I made. So, I definitely will have some mixed emotions in terms of those things. But nothing crazy jumps out other than my time there was a whirlwind. It was wild. The NFL is a whirlwind, but I’m grateful to still be playing, and I’m excited for this one.”

Wentz has taken his experiences with the Eagles and Colts as opportunities to develop as a person. 

“It was definitely a wild ride in many, many ways,” Wentz said. “But it definitely does catch you off guard. Things change, and you have to learn to grow up and change and adapt. And at the end of the day, I’m thankful for it. I’m thankful for the changes that life has brought, and I’ve grown a lot from it. There are always things I look back on and [think], man, I could have been better here. I could have been better as a person, as a teammate. [There are] lots of things that you do take for granted. And so I think I definitely thank God for the experiences I’ve had even though sometimes they’re dark or sometimes they’re not how I envisioned them to be. But I think it’s allowed me to grow as a person, and I’m thankful for that.”

Cowboys

• Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said WR Michael Gallup (knee) has passed the “physical threshold” of his recovery and is now getting reacclimated to game speed.  (Jane Slater)
• McCarthy mentioned that Gallup will have limited playing time in Week 3 given it’s his first game back from a torn ACL: “I don’t see Michael (Gallup) playing 70 plays in the game. It is his first game back.” (Gehlken)
• McCarthy said TE Dalton Schultz (knee) has a chance to play in Monday’s game but will continue to evaluate him through the week: “He’s on an incline. So we’re going to do a little more each day and try to take it to where we can get to Sunday. If he gets through Sunday clean, then he’ll have a chance (for Monday’s game).” (Rob Phillips)
• Cowboys veteran LT Jason Peters practiced at several different positions on Thursday. (Jon Machota)
• Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he wouldn’t mind a quarterback controversy between Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush: “Of course, I would. If [Rush] comes in there and played as well as Prescott played over these next games ahead, I’d walk to New York to get that.”  (Machota)
• Cowboys WR Noah Brown wasn’t going to let his opportunity to produce pass him by after working for a chance his sixth year in the league: “I’m not gonna lie and say it was all great all the time. Especially last year, I struggled a little bit when I did get the opportunity. To me it was just making sure that never happens again. Just being ready.” (Machota)
• Cowboys first-round LT Tyler Smith said the team’s defensive line helped prepare him to compete in a starting role: “We got one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, hands down, no doubt, so that’s helped me in my preparation. Preparation is a huge part… When you know where you’re supposed to go and what you’re supposed to be doing, the game kinda slows down.” (Machota)

Eagles

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts had perhaps the best game of his career under the bright lights of Monday Night Football in Week 2, and it’s catching eyes inside the league as well as outside. 

“He has all the confidence you could ever ask for at that position,” an NFC personnel executive told Heavy.com’s Matt Lombardo. “They gave him more weapons. The team got better, he got better, and maybe most importantly, it’s another year in the same system.”

“The thing with Jalen and these other young quarterbacks,” the executive added. “It’s all about getting another year in the same system, building confidence, and then adding players around them. He has no choice but to be pretty good.”