49ers
49ers’ recently signed veteran S Tony Jefferson said sitting out all of last season while he recovered from a torn ACL feels like he was “starting all over again” as an undrafted free agent.
“Sitting out a year, you just completely miss everything,” Jefferson said, via NFL.com. “You just want to put your hand in the pile at this point. For me, being undrafted, it’s like starting all over again and just going out there and proving yourself and making a name. Cause, you know, you sit out a year, a lot of people forget. Forget who you are, forget what you’ve done, and it’s time for me to remind people.”
He added joining first-time 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans was a perk of signing in San Francisco.
“I had the opportunity to talk to him, I had been in contact with the 49ers for a little while,” Jefferson said. “Just looking at (Ryans), he looks like we’re the same age but you could tell he has the aggressive mindset. Like you said, he’s All-Pro, he’s been playing, so he knows exactly what he wants out of the defense and he knows what scheme he wants to run. He wants to be aggressive. Once you hear a defensive coordinator speak about being aggressive, all that does is shine lights in the head right there.”
Jefferson commented on the level of quarterbacks within the NFC West and expects to face a lot of passes in the 49ers’ secondary.
“As a secondary player, you look at the NFC West you see the quarterbacks,” Jefferson explained. “I love Matthew Stafford and have got to play against him a few times throughout my career, and then Kyler Murray and, of course, Russell Wilson, you know the ball is going to be in the air and with the ball is in the air that means more opportunities. I think with the front we have and the scheme we’ve got, I think it’s gonna give us ample opportunity to go make the plays. The ball is in the air – got get it, it’s ours.”
Jefferson praised 49ers LBs Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw as “sideline-to-sideline” type players.
“They got some dogs up front,” said Jefferson. “Any time you check out that roster and you look at the defensive depth chart and what they’ve done defensively up front – that’s where it starts, in the trenches. They got some dogs up there. Linebackers, you know, (Dre) Greenlaw, Fred Warner, all types of guys that are just sideline-to-sideline guys who make plays.”
Cardinals
Cardinals WR Christian Kirk has a chip on his shoulder entering his fourth year in the NFL, and is ready to prove what he’s capable of on a star-studded Cardinals offense.
“I think there’s no lack of motivation for me,” he said on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, via the official team site. “I know have to come out and play my best football. I know there are some doubters and people are counting me out, but I’m just ready to get out there and let my play speak for itself.”
Kirk has been putting extra time in this offseason to prepare for the final year of his rookie contract.
“I put all the work in that needs to be put in up to this point and I’m just ready to get out and have my best season yet.” Kirk stated, via CardsWire.
Rams
- The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue notes the Rams have repeatedly said they have no intention of letting CB Darious Williams leave. But Williams, who was tendered as a restricted free agent this offseason and is entering a contract year, recently changed agents, so he could be eyeing a chance at testing the market in 2022.
- Rodrigue mentions the Rams outbid the 49ers for undrafted S Troy Warner, who is the brother of 49ers LB Fred Warner.
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