NFC Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Washington

Cowboys

• ESPN’s Todd Archer says the Cowboys will wait until the March 9 deadline to officially place the franchise tag on QB Dak Prescott in the hopes of working out a long-term deal before then. 
• Archer adds the two sides have had discussions, if not actual negotiations, with the next and bigger deadline being July 15 at which point Prescott will have to play out his second season on the tag. 

Eagles

Eagles’ C Jason Kelce believes that sophomore QB Jalen Hurts has what it takes to be the team’s starter in 2021.

“He has all the intangibles,” Kelce said, via Zach Berman of The Athletic. “He’s got great confidence in himself first and foremost, which breeds off into other guys. He’s a little bit quieter, but then again most rookies are, especially when you’re just trying to learn and figure out where your place is on the team and what you’re doing. But I think he’s really smart. Just from the questions he asked me, he wants to figure things out. He’s very curious as to what’s happening each week.”

• Berman notes while cap space is likely going to be an issue, the team is still trying to figure out what it will do at quarterback after the Carson Wentz trade.
• He also points out that while the team is probably more inclined to keep their draft picks instead of trading them for veterans, there are trade possibilities out there such as Jets’ QB Sam Darnold and Raiders’ QB Marcus Mariota.
• Berman expects the Eagles to sign a veteran quarterback at the very least to compete with Hurts and mentions Colts QB Jacoby Brissett and Chargers QB Tyrod Taylor as strong options who have worked with HC Nick Sirianni and OC Shane Steichen. Drafting a quarterback in the first round is also on the table. 
• As to the mood inside the building after trading away Wentz, NBC Sports’ Peter King described it as stunned disbelief, from owner Jeffrey Lurie on down, as at this time a year ago both Wentz and HC Doug Pederson were viewed as cornerstones of a promising future for the franchise and now both are gone. 
• Army LB John Rhattigan has spoken recently with the Eagles. He was a participant in the Hula Bowl. (Justin Melo)

Washington

As the Washington Football Team turned its attention to remaking its front office this offseason, they put a heavy focus and premium on adding experience. New GM Martin Mayhew was the Lions’ GM for six years. EVP Marty Hurney had two different stints as the GM of the Panthers. Director of pro personnel Chris Polian was the GM for the Colts for two years and director of player personnel Eric Stokes was the No. 2 for the Dolphins for two years as well. The same way that retread coaches can have success learning from the mistakes they made the first time, Mayhew says their front office has decades of combined experience in top front office roles to utilize. 

“This has come up several times in our conversations already, about things going on with the team currently, just in our meetings,” Mayhew said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “Our experience in those conversations always comes up. Eric can say ‘When I was in Miami, this happened.’ Chris can say, ‘When I was in Indianapolis, this is how it played out.’ And I can talk about Detroit and Marty can talk about Carolina. So that experience is very valuable.

“We’ve all made mistakes. Anybody who’s had this job has made mistakes. And we’ve all learned from them. I think we do a very good job of bouncing ideas off each other. I think one good thing about all of us is we’re very opinionated. None of us hold our tongue or hold back. We all have opinions on things, and we will get them out on the table, and get them out and discuss them.”

• Breer mentions Panthers WR Curtis Samuel as a name to watch for Washington in free agency, as not only is he familiar with a number of coaches formerly from Carolina but he also played with WR Terry McLaurin at Ohio State. 
• ESPN’s John Keim says a team source told him there were five quarterbacks the team wanted to dig more into as potential solutions this offseason. But they don’t want to commit too much to obtain one and damage their rebuild. 
• Keim adds Washington doesn’t see QBs Kyle Allen or Taylor Heinicke as long-term options, but thinks the team could win nine or ten games with them and potentially Alex Smith if he decides he wants to play and is receptive to a pay cut to remain in Washington. 
• According to Front Office Sports’ A.J. Perez, an attorney for former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos spoke with investment banking firm Moag & Co. which is leading the push to sell a minority stake in the Washington Football Team. Bezos has been interested in owning an NFL team for a while.