NFC Notes: Sam Howell, DeAndre Hopkins, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles

Commanders

Commanders HC Ron Rivera said Sam Howell is opening their offseason program as the first-team quarterback but he must earn the job going forward. 

“Just because I said he’s going to start off as QB1 doesn’t mean he’s going to finish as QB1,” Rivera said, via ProFootballTalk. “I like to believe, though, that if he goes out and does the things he’s capable of, he’s got a very good chance of doing that. I think Jacoby has shown us some things that have really gotten people’s attention. We talk about Jacoby almost as much as we talk about Sam. I just think as we go through this process, until we play games, it would be unfair to start making assessments.”

Cowboys

• Cowboys DC Dan Quinn thinks it’s been good to have HC Mike McCarthy calling offensive plays again: “It’s really cool to see Mike in that role. It looks, from my opinion, like he’s having a blast. Sometimes as a head coach, when you’re not the play-caller and you are yearning for it, I’ve seen that with him, the energy he has for it. He sets the whole menu and the table for us and we’re having a good offseason. But him specifically, I’ve felt some happiness and some joy for him going out there and you can see his competitive juices going. We’ll have some good battles (at training camp). I’ve coached against Mike for a long time, he’s one of the very best. Hopefully we have a lot of fun out in California,” said Quinn, via Jon Machota. 
• Quinn said they plan on using LB Micah Parsons, S Donovan Wilson, S Jayron Kearse, and DE Dorance Armstrong in multiple ways: “I thought we were only at one position? (Laughing) My job is to help find matchups, Micah and others, to put guys in spots where we can really allow them to rip and kick ass. That’s been my goal all along. We’ve got a lot of unique players. How we feature Donovan (Wilson), (Jayron Kearse), Micah and Dorance Armstrong and others, we like to move them around and put them into different spots. … We’re not gonna ask somebody to do something that they’ve never done or haven’t been ready for. This is a good time to explore that.” (Machota) 
• Quinn mentioned a lot of colleagues told him recently acquired CB Stephon Gilmore is his kind of player: “When we (traded for him), I bet I got 10-12 calls or texts saying, ‘DQ, this is your kind of guy. You’re gonna love this guy.’ That told me a lot. And then in the first interaction, just knowing how hard he works at it and then seeing the connection with (Trevon Diggs) to start and then with some others, that was a big deal for me. (It says), ‘Not only do I have all this knowledge, but I’m willing to share that wisdom.’ That’s a really important thing for coaches to do, but also for veteran ball players to do if they have that ability to share.” (Machota)
• Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer said their “Texas Coast Offense” is a combination of the West Coast system and previous offenses from Dallas: “I’ve said it and I do believe it, it wasn’t broke. What they’ve done here over the last 5-6-7 years has been really good since Dak came into the league. We wanted to keep a lot of that in place. That’s what our players know. We’re a veteran, strong offense that has added some really cool pieces. We were very selective about the changes we made. We tried to protect some of the language, the things Dak has used for a long time. But we certainly added some wrinkles. Not to put a number on it, but we’re somewhere in that keep 70 percent-ish. We’ve certainly added some flavor.” (Machota)

Eagles

• When asked about the Eagles’ potential interest in DeAndre Hopkins, HC Nick Sirianni said he’s already pleased with their receivers group: “I’m really pleased with the group that we have. Howie and myself are always looking for opportunities to make the team better, but I really love the room that we have,” per ProFootballTalk.