NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

• According to HC Kyle Shanahan, 49ers S Jimmie Ward suffered a “pretty bad” hamstring injury in practice on Sunday, with a chance he could miss Week 1. (Eric Branch)
• Shanahan said QB Jimmy Garoppolo won’t be cut in the trim to 85, but he also won’t travel to Minnesota for joint practices with the Vikings. (Matt Barrows)
• Garoppolo has not been in meetings with the team, working outside throwing when they are inside and usually on his way home when they’re on the field for practice, and does not even have a playbook. (Peter King)

Cardinals

Cardinals TE Stephen Anderson said that he feels Arizona’s tight end group is very deep and he’s excited to see where he can make his mark.

“I rest my hat on my versatility. I’ve played fullback a lot and I know this offense doesn’t typically have a fullback, but if Kliff decides to then we can,” Anderson said, via Sports Illustrated. “Along with my ability to block in space, block in line, line up out wide, line up in the backfield, as well as my contributions on special teams, I feel that I have a lane of my own.”

Anderson has done a great job at displaying his pass-catching abilities, according to HC Kliff Kingsbury. With TE Zach Ertz nursing a calf injury and second-round TE Trey McBride dealing with back issues, Anderson has had more opportunities to showcase his talents.

“He’s got a ton of reps, a ton of targets and has made the most of it,” Kingsbury said. “I hadn’t seen him utilized as much as we’re utilizing him in the passing game, but he’s stepped up and done a nice job with it. We’ve been really pleased with what we’ve seen so far.”

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay gave his thoughts on third-round OL Logan Bruss after his first preseason performance. 

“I thought he did a good job. Sometimes, there is so much going on up front that until you go back and watch the film,” McVay said, via RamsWire.com. “But there was a couple plays where he was at the point of attack and even did a good job on some backside combinations where the ball ended up winding back for some good positive gains.”

• Rams DL Bobby Brown hurt his ankle, according to McVay. The team is still waiting on MRI results to confirm severity but initial X-ray results were “encouraging.” (Jourdan Rodrigue)

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll believes that quarterbacks Geno Smith and Drew Lock both looked sharp in their first preseason game. 

“As it turned out, for both guys that was a good outing because they had a lot of pressure on them to have to get things done,’’ Carroll said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “We’re coming from behind and drives to go ahead and all that kind of stuff. I’m anxious to see how it looks when we break it down. But those were the kind of options we were looking forward to seeing how the guys were doing.’’