Commanders
Commanders GM Martin Mayhew is expecting TEs Logan Thomas and John Bates to be ready for Week 1 but took the time to praise undrafted rookie TE Armani Rogers, who did well enough in their absence to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
Mayhew had even been spending time scouting Rogers going back to his time as a quarterback at UNLV.
“To get value like that as an undrafted free agent for this guy to come in as a former quarterback that just moves to tight end, and to play the way that he played during training camp was really impressive to see,” Mayhew said, via CommandersWire.com. “I can’t say enough about this kid because we had some injuries in the tight end group. He had some injuries as well, but he was able to get out there every single day and go and compete every single day. So he’s got a lot of mental toughness too. I’m really excited about what the future holds for him.”
- Former Washington Commanders President Bruce Allen is scheduled for deposition with the House Oversight Committee on Monday. (JP Finlay)
Cowboys
- Cowboys WR KaVontae Turpin has caught the eye of OC Kellen Moore after initially signing as a return specialist: “It’s been really cool to see him become a receiver…We see him as a receiver. We think he’s going to be able to play a role.” (Michael Gehlken)
- Cowboys OT Jason Peters on if he was added for depth or as an eventual starter: “It doesn’t matter. Whatever they ask me. If (Tyler) Smith gets in there and start rolling and they want to keep him, I’m just going to help him. … If they ask me to start I’m going to get in there and go to work.” (Jon Machota)
- Peters has no reservations when asked how long it will take him to get acclimated and play in a regular season game: “It will be a couple of weeks. Getting in pads and getting my feet up under me. It’s not going to take long. … I don’t have a game circled, but I’m working to be available in a couple of weeks.” (Machota)
Eagles
The defining attribute of Eagles QB Jalen Hurts‘ career so far has been his ability to squeeze more out of himself when everyone else has doubts. He was benched in college and ended up becoming a Heisman finalist, drafted as a backup in the NFL and ascended to the starting lineup. This time a year ago, many people expected the Eagles to have a different starter than Hurts by now, but he’s hung around.
“He loves football,” Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “He’s such a gym rat, he’s always into it. You expect that from a coach’s kid, right? Frank Reich would always say guys that love football that are tough, that are competitive, find a way to reach their ceiling. And that’s what I see in Jalen. He has all the intangibles. You just know he’s gonna get better. And he’s done it every year of his career, dating back to his freshman year at Alabama — getting better, getting better, getting better. Goes to Oklahoma, gets better. Then from his first year in the NFL to this year, you keep seeing big improvements.”
For all of the improvements Hurts has made as a quarterback, there’s still a long way to go to be able to lead the Eagles where they think they’re going to be capable of going, perhaps as soon as this year. But he continues to impress the Eagles with the things he already does pretty well, perhaps even better than a lot of other quarterbacks.
“What I’m amazed with is he’s just unfazed by things,” Sirianni said. “It could be anything from a play in the game that doesn’t go the way it’s supposed to go to me yelling at him on the sideline or him scoring one of the biggest touchdowns of the year. And I know there’s been a lot of good touchdowns in the history of Philadelphia, but that one he had against New Orleans, kids all over Philadelphia are gonna be imitating that run where he jukes the defensive end, goes and scores to put the game away, for the next 20 years.
“And he’s unfazed by that. He’s got the same demeanor. The stadium falls on him in Washington, he’s unfazed. The guy hits him out of bounds in the first preseason game, the first drive, he’s unfazed. So I think it’s just who the man is. He’s unfazed by things, which is what you want. You want a guy that doesn’t ride the waves of the season. You want that with all your guys, but especially at that position.”
Giants
- Giants WR Darius Slayton was excused from practice on Tuesday. (Jordan Raanan)
- The Giants listed veteran LB Austin Calitro in place of recently released LB Blake Martinez as a starter on their initial regular season depth chart. (Paul Schwartz)
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
