NFC Notes: 49ers, Buccaneers, Saints

49ers

49ers’ veteran WR Mohamed Sanu said rookie QB Trey Lance is proving to be “very hard-working” in the offseason program and is “very diligent” with his development. 

“The thing about Trey is he’s a very hard-working kid,” Sanu said, via Hot Pie Media. “He listens. Very diligent. He’s the type of kid that puts in the extra work. I just love his energy. You can tell the way he comes in the room and has so much charisma, and he just has that ‘it factor.’ It’s cool to see. Such a young kid, but still he has a special talent. It’s just up to him to keep working every day, do his thing, and his opportunity will come when it comes.”

Sanu added that Lance made some impressive throws at camp and quickly learns from his mistakes. 

“The way he goes out on the field, he’s confident,” Sanu said. “The confidence he has and the throws that he’s making. And then when he doesn’t get it right, he is eager to learn and fix it immediately and that’s something that’s very, very important especially for the quarterback position.”

Buccaneers

Buccaneers’ QB Tom Brady hasn’t revealed much about his torn MCL, yet WR Mike Evans said that playing through the injury speaks volumes about his toughness.

“I knew he was hurt, hurt pretty bad,” Evans said, via JoeBucsFan.com. “But you know, he’s as tough as you’re going to get. He was battling. I didn’t know it was torn. But it speaks to as tough as a player he really is.”

• The Athletic’s Greg Auman predicts QB Ryan Griffin will land on the practice squad.
• Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians said S Antoine Winfield missed practice with a positive COVID test, but he thinks it might be a false positive. (Auman)

Saints

• The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell highlights Saints WRs Tre’Quan Smith and Marquez Callaway as the two most likely candidates to step up while Michael Thomas is out. 
• She says the Saints will likely de-emphasize their third receiver this year and focus on spreading the ball around more. Deonte Harris is a candidate for more snaps on offense but Terrell doesn’t think New Orleans views him as more than a role player. 
• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says Thomas is expected to start the season on the PUP list which would knock him out for the first six games.