NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Kyler Murray, Rams, Odell Beckham

49ers

49ers C Alex Mack said that if San Francisco had won the Super Bowl instead of coming up a game short in the NFC championship, his decision to retire probably would have been pretty easy. Instead, Mack spent most of the offseason pondering before finally deciding that his body was telling him it was time. 

“I had a really good time on the field, and I always have really loved football,” he said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “It’s a lot of work; it’s hard and you’re tired. But it’s fun to be with the guys, and be at practice, and run around and push things. It just gets harder when your body hurts, to do that day-in and day-out, and be the player you want to be every time, with the immense pressure of preparing week-in and week-out.

“There are a lot of things that go into the season, you really have to be ready to go all in. There’s no half-effort. You have to be training your hardest, getting your body right, ready to put in the work in the film room. It is a monumental task of monotony to be good.”

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury is confident that they will make Kyler Murray the highest-paid player “in franchise history.”

“There’s no doubt, he’s the leader of this franchise. You know, we’re about to make him, I’m sure, the highest-rated player in this franchise’s history and so he understands what comes with that. And the guys know what he can be at his best, and anytime we can get the whole band out there, things pick up,” Kingsbury said.

Kingsbury added that he’s unsure of a timeline for Murray’s extension, but would like to get it done prior to training camp.

“I’m praying before training camp,” Kingsbury said. “I just want him there Day 1 of training camp.”

Rams

Rams COO Kevin Demoff said the team would love to bring back WR Odell Beckham, Jr. and if the salary cap wasn’t a factor he likely already would have re-signed with the team.

“If we didn’t have a salary cap, we could’ve signed Odell months ago and would’ve loved to,” Demoff said, via The Athletic. “Is it a multi-year deal, is it a one-year deal? All kinds of variables that come into Odell. The one variable that hasn’t changed is how much we love him and want him to be there. I think he’s expressed, over social, his desire to be here. Am I optimistic we can get a deal done over time? Yes.”

Demoff didn’t give a specific timetable on when a deal could possibly be completed but did confirm interest in bringing Beckham back.

“Both sides have had (an) open dialogue, both sides (are) respectful, excited and couldn’t be more grateful for what Odell did for our team last year — and the chance to meet him and watch him flourish in LA,” he said.

Demoff acknowledged that Beckham’s recovery from the ACL tear he suffered in the Super Bowl is also potentially a reason why Beckham remains unsigned.

“With Odell, I think, given the rehab (and) the timeline of coming back probably mid-to-later in the year, I just think that the sense of urgency both from his side and probably from our side — and maybe other teams — is not right there, for him,” Demoff said.