49ers
- 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said first-round QB Trey Lance has had “the best consecutive four weeks of practice since we’ve had him.” Shanahan praised Lance’s consistency and said he’ll have “a chance” to play vs. Texans. (Matt Barrows)
- Shanahan said QB Jimmy Garoppolo‘s thumb was not fractured when asked, and that Garoppolo was dealing with some pain in the thumb: “No, it’s a thumb sprain, so I think you guys know how those are. It didn’t feel great today. He wasn’t able to throw today, we’ll see how it is on Wednesday. Hopefully it’ll get better.” (Inman)
- Shanahan didn’t feel like GM John Lynch needed to address the liked tweet advocating for leaving Garoppolo in Nashville: “As soon as you read a tweet like that I don’t think one person who knows John thinks that he did that (on purpose).” (Barrows)
- 49ers LB Azeez Al-Shaair has a knee sprain and is expected to miss at least the final two games of the season. (Matt Maiocco)
- 49ers sixth-round RB Elijah Mitchell has a shot to play this week, while CB Emmanuel Moseley is unlikely to play vs. the Texans. (Maiocco)
Cardinals
Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury said despite clinching a playoff spot, the team needs to get better to have a chance to make a run.
“I don’t think (qualifying) was ever on the forefront of our minds,” Kingsbury said, via AZCardinals.com. “We’ve just been trying to improve and play better. That’s been the focus. To be in the playoffs with two games left is an accomplishment, and we understand that. But we know we’ve got to improve a lot and play better football and stop hurting ourselves in these games before we even think about taking the next step.”
Rams
Rams QB Matthew Stafford had his third multi-interception game of the season on Sunday against the Vikings. One of them he was upset about, while the other he chalked up to just good plays by the defense.
“First one, once I snuck out (away from pressure), I wish I would have just run, get what I can get, get down,” Stafford said via the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. “Kind of in between whether I was going to throw that to him or throw it away, and just yanked it. Terrible play, to be honest with you, and backed up (in Rams territory). One of them was tipped. I have to live with those. The other one, I kind of got hit as I threw (the pass intended for Jefferson). I still feel like there’s a throw out there if I don’t get hit on that one, probably a throw out there (to Jefferson) for a big play.”
- Rams HC Sean McVay said there’s a good chance RB Cam Akers plays Sunday vs. the Ravens: “There is a possibility that he plays this week. He looked really good last week in practice. (He) did a nice job. (I) want to make sure that we’re smart, checking all the boxes. But I mean, this guy is an impressive guy.” (Adam Schefter)
- McVay said C Brian Allen‘s knee checked out OK and he thinks he will be fine. (Rodrigue)
- Rams DL Greg Gaines had surgery on his injured finger Monday. However, McVay believes he’ll be healthy enough to play in time for Sunday’s game. (Gary Klein)
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