NFC Notes: 49ers, Brock Purdy, Cardinals, Rams, Baker Mayfield

49ers

49ers LB Fred Warner thinks that a lot of people are writing them off now that rookie QB Brock Purdy, who was the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, is the starting quarterback. 

“It’s such an unlikely story to have Mr. Irrelevant come in, lead the Niners to a Super Bowl,” Warner said, via David Bonilla of 49ersWebZone. “I think that’s what everybody’s going to write us off on, and that’s fine. If that’s what everyone wants the narrative to be, I’m completely fine with that. I’m so completely laser-focused, just like I know the team is, on taking this thing one week at a time.”

49ers DL Dre Greenlaw said that the locker room has reacted well to Purdy since his arrival. 

“As you’ve seen, Brock Purdy came in, and ever since he’s come into the league, we’ve just kind of had this respect, this weird thing about Brock,” Greenlaw said. “Brock just gets stuff done. He’s an athlete. He plays with a swagger. He just knows how to get stuff done, so I can’t wait to see the way he steps in and just the ball that he plays.”

Greenlaw added that Purdy has done a lot of work to prepare himself as a starter. 

“I just know the preparation that he puts in,” Greenlaw said. “He’s always ready to go. Like I said, Brock is just a baller. We’ve been going against him for 13 weeks-plus, since he’s been here, and he’s shown us every day that he can get it done.”

• 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans said DE Nick Bosa is working his way back into the rotation and credited him for his impact on their defense this season: ‘Working his way back in, doing good. He’s definitely playing his best right now. If you talk about guy affect game, he’s best in the league. If it isn’t Bosa I don’t know who else it should be. He put our defense in the position it’s in.” (Cam Inman)

Cardinals

• Regarding the Cardinals’ upcoming game against the Patriots, DC Vance Joseph said that he’s observed a conservative approach from New England: “It’s like a defensive guy is calling the offense.” (Darren Urban)
• Cardinals TE Zach Ertz said that he recently underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL, and is hopeful to be ready by Week 1 of next season. (Bob McManaman)

Rams

Rams QB Baker Mayfield reflected on the 98-yard game-winning drive against the Raiders on Thursday night.

“I don’t know if you could write it any better than that,” Mayfield said, via ProFootballTalk. “Obviously, we’d like to be a little bit more stress-free. But it’s a pretty damn good story. It’s special.”

Mayfield said that HC Sean McVay‘s blocking scheme is similar to Browns OL coach Bill Callahan‘s and has been focused on learning McVay’s motions and offensive terminology. 

“Sean’s protection scheme is similar to Bill Callahan’s, who I had in Cleveland,” Mayfield said. “So, the terminology with that, that knocks out a big chunk of the learning curve. And just trying to learn all the motions and the terminology for that — it’s tough. But those guys did a great job of helping me out, communicating with me when I got off the field on the sideline and just talking through the plays that were coming up.”

Mayfield mentioned that there were some mistakes on formation alignment and motions but praised how their defense stepped up in critical situations. 

“There were still definitely [what] looked like some rookie errors with formations and motions. Obviously, it hurt us late. It worked out, but not having the timeouts to call on defense, it came down to that third-and-1 stop. Defense did a hell of a job making that stop and giving us the ball back. There’s things that definitely need to be worked out, but those guys helped me out in this crash course.”

• Mayfield said that he is grateful for his time with the Carolina Panthers this season: “I’m thankful for the guys back in Carolina, my teammates. I love those guys. It sucked having to leave. But when it works out like this, it’s for the best. And I think they understand that.” (Joseph Person)