NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Falcons

49ers

• The Athletic’s Matt Barrows writes his early sense is the 49ers view DE Chase Young as a nine-game rental similar to how WR Emmanuel Sanders was in 2019. They also traded a third-round pick for Sanders. 
• Barrows mentions if veteran G Jon Feliciano is steady in the next two games replacing starting RG Aaron Banks, the 49ers will have to think about keeping him in the lineup on the other side and replacing LG Spencer Burford.

Cardinals

Cardinals rookie QB Clayton Tune is excited to get his first chance to start against the Browns.

“It’s exciting to have this opportunity,” Tune said, via ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “I feel like I’ve been preparing the same way I have been all season.”

Cardinals LT D.J. Humphries commended Tune for the way he carries himself on and off of the field.

“He’s so cool and collected,” Humphries said. “I’m a big fan of Clayton, as well. It’s just his demeanor and how he carries himself. It is super cool to me to see a young guy with that type of confidence and understanding.”

Tune feels like he’s come a long way since Arizona drafted him in the fifth round.

“I would say I’ve made a lot of improvements, you know, watching Dobbs, watching Kyler, watching all the guys that have come before me, learning, and learning from the mistakes that I’ve made early on,” Tune said. “I feel like I’ve come a long way from training camp.”

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon believes the time Tune spent learning the offense behind the veterans ahead of him played a role in his development.

“You can learn a lot from watching guys, seeing a lot of ball,” he said. “The NFL’s a different game, so just seeing how the NFL is played, so I think it’s good.”

Cardinals OC Drew Petzing added that Tune did a great job of coming in and learning the offense and has spent time learning how to dissect an NFL defense.

“I think a lot of it’s the process and understanding the game and the nuances between the college game and the NFL game, the speed of the game, the variety of coverage, how the run game ties into the quarterback’s responsibilities,” Petzing explained. “I think a lot of that was new to him. I think he really embraced that challenge and learning that and committing himself to that. So, it’s been fun to see.”

Falcons

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said there were “a lot of variables” that went into starting QB Taylor Heinicke over Desmond Ridder, at least in the “short term.” 

“There’s a lot of variables,” Smith said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “Considering the last 72 hours and where we are at going into this week, we’re going with Taylor. That’s why he’s here… Right now, in the short term, we’re going with Taylor,” 

Smith added they are focused on Week 9 against the Vikings and reiterated there are “a lot of variables” in choosing who to start. 

“We don’t have a long-term plan right now. Right now we’re focused on Minnesota,” Smith said. “There are a lot of variables.”

Heinicke received a text from Smith the night before being officially named the starter and pointed out he was in a similar situation with the Commanders. 

“So my alarm goes off this morning around 5:30, 5:45 with my phone and it’s the first thing I see,” Heinicke said. “I came in and started getting ready to go. In Washington that happened a couple times, so this isn’t the first go-around.”