NFC Notes: Sam Howell, Jalen Hurts, Commanders, Eagles

Commanders

Commanders HC Ron Rivera said he’s seen a lot of positives out of QB Sam Howell and said he wants to continue to see his development through.

“As far as I’m concerned, you look at some of the biggest things, it really is about the development of this young quarterback,” Rivera said, via PFT. “There have been a lot of positives that you see coming out of some of the things that Sam has been doing. As far as that’s concerned, you see his decision-making has been really good in terms of who he’s throwing the ball to. Some things, he can clean up are the types of throws that he’s making. Is he trying to loft the ball when he needs to put the ball on a line a little bit? We saw a little bit of that yesterday. But he’s been really good at it. And just really appreciate his development and growth. I think that’s one of the big important things for us.”

• Rivera on sticking with Howell for the rest of the season: “I’m committed to him and we’ll see how things go, but I can’t predict the future.” (Nicki Jhabvala)
• Rivera continued on the state of the team: “We’re trying to play the best we can and at the same time grow a team. We’re not cutting a bunch of people, trading for a bunch of people, trying to hire a bunch of people….I understand [fan] frustration — a lot are frustrated here because we’re working our butts off.” (John Keim)

Commanders

• The Athletic’s Ben Standig says the Commanders have not had substantive contract talks with the reps for either DE Chase Young or DE Montez Sweat, both of whom are represented by the same agency.
• He adds the team has not had significant trade discussions about either player beyond due diligence-type talks, and more importantly Washington has not determined what its approach to the trade deadline will be. 
• However, one high-ranking executive from another team believes Washington will ultimately be sellers: “They won’t say it publicly, but they will (sell) They’re looking for value. All on the table.”
• Young and Sweat are the headliners, but Standig lists some other players entering contract years to keep an eye on if Washington does start selling, including S Kamren Curl, WR Curtis Samuel, QB Jacoby Brissett, RB Antonio Gibson, and CB Kendall Fuller. Commanders TE Logan Thomas and LT Charles Leno aren’t in contract years but Standig says their contracts are tradable. 
• If Washington beats the Eagles and decides it needs to add help at the trade deadline instead of trading away players, Standig mentions Panthers S Jeremy Chinn (although he’s out until December with a quad injury) and Bears OL Cody Whitehair as potential targets. 

Eagles

Eagles WR A.J. Brown turned in his fifth straight game of at least 125 yards receiving in the Week 7 win against the Dolphins, tying him with former Lions Hall of Fame WR Calvin Johnson. It’s great company to be in for Brown, and the trade the Eagles made to land him continues to look like a coup. 

“This week at practice, A.J. was having an unbelievable practice, and I went up to [owner Jeffrey] Lurie and I go, ‘There’s no way I ever thought this would come out of my mouth, but thanks for the $100 million to pay A.J. Brown,’” Eagles HC Nick Sirianni said after the game via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “I really appreciate that. A guy from Jamestown N.Y., I never thought I’d say, Hey, thanks for the $100 million to pay A.J. Brown.”

“A.J. is a phenomenal player,” he added. “He just has this unbelievable ability to come down with the football. Nobody catches the ball as pretty as A.J. Brown. Nobody. I can’t tell you how many times [I see it] in practice. I’m just in awe of good wide receivers, and the skill that they have. Nobody goes and snags the football like him—nobody I’ve seen. And it’s so much cooler in person to see that when it’s on your team. He’s on a tear right now.”

• Ian Rapoport reports that QB Jalen Hurts‘ knee injury is not one that would keep him out of a game and likely won’t even keep him out of practice.