Syracuse Football: Pat Shurmur comment opens door for Eric Dungey

Former Syracuse football quarterback Eric Dungey is trying to make an NFL roster this fall. New York Giants HC Pat Shurmur opened the door this week.

Eric Dungey has been facing long odds all of his life. He faced long odds with the Syracuse football squad through a variety of injuries and now he’s facing incredible odds to make the New York Giants roster as a rookie.

After spending four years on the hill putting up video game numbers, Dungey wasn’t selected in the 2019 NFL Draft. Nearly a week went by without any update on Eric’s future until out of nowhere ED signed a deal with Big Blue.

Eric had multiple offers after going undrafted and was more patient than most players in his position with his selection process. A phone call with Giants’ head coach Pat Shurmur sealed the deal:

"“We were kind of all over the board probably until Tuesday late afternoon,” Tim Dungey said to Nate Mink of Syracuse.com. “Shurmur called Eric, and they had a long conversation and he made Eric feel pretty good.”"

Well, another comment that Pat Shurmur made to the media should also make Dungey feel pretty good about his immediate future:

"“I think we’re going to play the very best player,” Shurmur said following Tuesday’s OTA practice when asked directly if there is a quarterback competition on tap during training camp via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. “I know we’re dancing around the words there. Eli is getting ready to have a great year and Daniel is getting ready to play. We’ll see what happens with it.”"

The reason why this comment stands out is that the narrative has been set that Eli Manning is the starter and nothing is going to change. That is what has been force fed down our throats since the Giants selected Daniel Jones sixth overall out of Duke as the franchise’s future franchise quarterback.

Which means at best Dungey could be the third wheel in that awkward quarterback relationship.

Here are the quarterbacks currently listed on the Giants roster:

• Kyle Lauletta
• Eli Manning
• Alex Tanney
• Eric Dungey
• Daniel Jones

NFL teams typically keep between two and three quarterbacks on their roster.

Although there is a trend happening in the NFL right now regarding the quarterback position that can only benefit Eric.

"“Philadelphia Eagles QB coach Press Taylor said Monday he thinks one of the next big NFL developments could be the implementation of multiple quarterbacks on the field at the same time,” per Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports."

If this is true, this provides a unique avenue for Dungey to make an NFL roster and this also means his timing entering the league is perfect. A few legitimate examples of this potentially occurring were explored in the Yahoo Sports report:

• The Los Angeles Chargers drafted QB Easton Stick and he’s a versatile player that could be used in a variety of looks.
• Obviously, the Baltimore Ravens are going completely unconventional with Lamar Jackson at the helm and we saw bits and pieces of that in 2018. Also on the Ravens roster is Trace McSorley of Penn State who apparently has a chance for a large role in the offense this upcoming season.
• While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have also jumped in the conga line by signing undrafted Nick Fitzgerald, he’s the all-time leading QB rusher in SEC history.

While the obvious case seems to be Taysom Hill with the New Orleans Saints. During the offseason process, Dungey was asked on several occasions about that comparison and he seemed resistant to the idea of being a gimmick quarterback.

It’s not easy for Eric, he set records at Syracuse and is one of the most decorated quarterbacks to ever step foot in the Carrier Dome in history. But he’s warmed up to the idea and is listed as a quarterback/tight end on the Giants roster sheet.

With this new development potentially on the horizon and considering Pat Shurmur’s comments, the door is wide open for Dungey to make an NFL impact, the only question is will he seize the opportunity?

"“The players that give our team the best chance to win play. That’s period,” Shurmur said via Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. “We’ve seen Eli do that for a very long time, so we’ll see what happens as we go down the road.”"