Commentary: Eagles dodging drama of other NFL teams in preseason

PHILADELPHIA — Don't you want to be in Dallas? Well, no. You probably don't. And you probably don't want to be in Oxnard, Calif., either, where the Cowboys hold training camp. Eagles fans probably don't want anything to do with Dallas or the Cowboys, other than chuckling at them and not hiding laughter well. Micah Parsons wants a new contract, and Jerry Jones doesn't want to give him one, at least not yet. So Parsons has asked to be traded — in a statement that he wrote on his Notes app and that was longer than a Target receipt — and Jerry, as he does every year at this time, is reveling in his and the Cowboys' status as the all-time kings of talk-show/social-media/watercooler/can-you-believe-what-they're-doing conversation. The only way Jones could try harder to seek attention would be if he showed up for a press conference wearing nothing but American Eagle denim, smiling coyly, and asking, Don't I have great jeans? OK, so you don't want to deal with that mess. How about Ashburn, Va.? Terry McLaurin, the Washington Commanders' outstanding wide receiver, has been so bothered by his negotiations for a new contract that he, like Parsons, has requested a trade. And I, for one, am shocked — shocked! — that a Josh Harris-owned franchise is having issues with a star player. Still not persuaded that life would be more fun and exciting if you didn't root for such a dull, buttoned-up team? Fine. Check out the Eagles' opponent in their preseason opener Thursday. The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, Trey Hendrickson, who has 57 sacks over his four seasons with the team. Yet not only have the Bengals failed to reach an extension agreement with Hendrickson, not only is he "holding in" during training camp — showing up but not practicing — but they listed him as their third-string defensive end when they released their first depth chart of the season. TOTAL FACIAL, TREY. The Real Housewives-level pettiness is almost admirable. So, yeah, you might be glad that you don't root for any of those teams. But I sure wish I covered one of them regularly, because this calm, uneventful Eagles training camp is for the birds. They just won the Super Bowl, and all their important players are here and seem pretty happy, and the biggest worries (for the moment anyway) are whether they've adequately shored up those high-profile positions of … outside cornerback and right guard. Zzzzzz. The problem is that Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman have this annoying habit of avoiding these kinds of contentious contract situations. Granted, they've had their misses. They signed Carson Wentz to an extension for a lot of money for a long time, then he decided he didn't want to be here. They didn't want to rework Haason Reddick's deal, then he made it known he wasn't thrilled with being here. And those two seasons, 2020 and 2023, were … shall we say … rocky. Which was to be expected. Sure, Parsons and McLaurin and Hendrickson all might end up signing extensions and putting on good faces, but these bruised feelings tend to linger. It's never reassuring or inspiring for elite athletes to find out their teams aren't totally committed to keeping them around. Lurie, through his willingness to spend generously on players' signing bonuses, and Roseman, through his and his staff's negotiating and talent-evaluation skills, have managed to keep the Eagles competitive and, largely, drama-free in recent years. Better to sign guys too early than too late, right? That's their thinking, and as coach Nick Sirianni said Tuesday, "Howie's the best in the world at what he does … and it works for us." Jalen Hurts; Saquon Barkley; A.J. Brown; DeVonta Smith; Lane Johnson; Cam Jurgens; Jordan Mailata; Zack Baun; even Dallas Goedert, who everyone thought would be traded during the offseason: They're all back, and their presences allow the Eagles to maintain continuity on their roster and a good culture within their locker room. "I do think it brings a sense of confidence," said Hurts, who signed a five-year extension with the Eagles as soon as he was eligible for one, after his third season in the NFL. "You can kind of see a trend on how things go, whether it be by position or timing or things like that. Howie's always done a great job of doing what he does. He's been very intentional about his decisions. It's continued to put us in a great place. So as a player, as a quarterback, I want to hold up on my end and do what I'm asked to do." The Eagles drafted Smith two picks ahead of Parsons in 2021. He signed a three-year extension in April of 2024. Parsons is still waiting for Jones to blink (if he's still capable, after all the cosmetic surgeries). "It brings that family environment, knowing that Howie and they feel comfortable extending guys when it's their time," Smith said. "Getting it done, it makes you feel like you're part of something special." Fine. But it makes those of us who have to cover this team feel like we're part of something boooorrrrrinnnnngggg. Come on, DeVonta, can't you curse out a coach or do some stomach-crunches or something?