NFC Notes: 49ers, Bears, Lions

49ers

• 49ers CB Richard Sherman (Achilles) tells Tom Pelissero that his rehab is going “phenomenal” but is still unable to stop quickly after sprinting.
• According to Pelissero, the 49ers have been “conservative” with Sherman’s rehab but he is still confident that he will be completely recovered in time for training camp and the regular season.
• During an interview with Michael Robinson of the NFL Network, Sherman said he wouldn’t have signed with the 49ers if he didn’t believe in QB Jimmy Garoppolo: “I believe so. I wouldn’t have signed with the team if I didn’t believe in him. I watched his film. I watched how he moved down the stretch, I watched how poised he was. I had conversations with his teammates, I had conversations with the head coach about how they coach him, about how he approaches the game. And just seeing his demeanor and seeing how he interacts with his teammates, I think I made a fantastic decision [to join 49ers]. I’m excited to see him go out there.”

Bears

Bears veteran LB Danny Trevathan isn’t looking at the team’s decision to draft ILB Roquan Smith as an indication that the writing is on the wall for him this offseason.

“It depends on how you look at it,” Trevathan said, via NBC Chicago. “For me, it is what it is, (Smith’s) a good player and he’s going to help us out on defense. You just want to go ahead and do your job and keep working. He’s a good player, just like we’ve all got some good players out here. But he’s … we got the right guy to fit our defense. He’s working his tail off and he fits in with our linebacker group.”

New Bears HC Matt Nagy said Trevathan’s veteran experience will allow him to be a “great mentor” for Roquan.

“(He has) that veteran experience,” Nagy said. “We went against Danny when I was in Kansas City and he was at Denver so we always knew what kind of player he was. He has the demeanor to him, a focus, he’s very serious when he’s out there on the field and he’ll have a great mentorship, he’ll be a great mentor for Roquan.”

Lions

• Michael Rothstein of ESPN believes the Lions will likely sign a defensive tackle at some point, given they did not do much to improve the line in the 2018 NFL Draft and free agency.
• Rothstein names Alan Branch and Ricky Jean-Francois as two veteran free agent defensive tackles who have played under new Lions HC Matt Patricia.
• As for free agent DT Johnathan Hankins, Rothstein admits that he has “high-level” talent, but it may cost too much to get him under contract for the Lions.
• We have Branch and Hankins featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.