NFL Notes: 49ers, Colts, Jets & Patriots

49ers

49ers sixth-round pick Jeff Driskel has not only worked as the team’s third-team quarterback, but he’s also shown a willingness to help out on special teams.

“He’s just a football player,” Kelly said of Driskel. “He just wants to play football and whatever he can do to make a team, he’s going to try to do it.”

“He’s a guy that’s athletic,” special teams coordinator Derius Swinton said. “He’s a guy that when he was at Florida, you saw him run all over. It comes down to a 53-man roster and if you do carry a guy like that, you just look at numbers.

“For me, I’m playing the numbers game. I try to squeeze every little bit out of it. You have a guy like Thad Lewis, when I had him as a rookie, Thad will tell you he covered every kick for us on the practice squad. So if you have a quarterback that can do that, it pays dividends for us.”

Colts

• Ben Volin of the Boston Globe expects Colts QB Andrew Luck to secure no more than a four-year contract worth over $100 million.
• This would allow Luck to sign his next contract when he’s 30 years old.

Jets

• Rich Cimini of ESPN writes that the Jets will be “hard-pressed” to make their 2015 success, and are instead a candidate to take a step back this year.
• Cimini mentions Jordan Jenkins is getting an opportunity to secure one of the Jets’ outside linebacker positions. However, the position is still “wide open” according to Cimini.
• Veteran K Nick Folk will be tough to unseat as the team’s starter, writes Cimini. Folk is competing with undrafted rookie Ross Martin.

Patriots

• Mike Reiss reports that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski was on the practice field for the start of OTAs back on May 23, and has been at the team’s facility every day since then.
• Reiss says that Gronkowski is dealing with an ailment that isn’t considered a long-term issue.
• New England has Shea McClellin listed as a defensive end/linebacker and are hoping he can bulk up to the 255-258 range before training camp.