NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

• Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports believes that it would “make sense” for the 49ers to pursue Jets QB Sam Darnold given backup quarterbacks C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens are respectively unrestricted and restricted free-agents. 
• Maiocco cites multiple NFL sources who project Darnold’s value to be a second-round and possible mid-to-late-round selection.
• However, Maiocco feels that price may be “especially high for the 49ers” given they are have just $13.35 million in cap space and require a “good number of their draft picks.” 
• Oregon State RB Jermar Jefferson recently met virtually with the 49ers. (Justin Melo)

Cardinals

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell wants to see QB Kyler Murray take his play to the next level.

“I want to see the next jump,” said Bidwell, via Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com. “I think we all want to see the next jump. He made a big step forward between his rookie year and his second year. We really want to see that next level, and hopefully, that’s going to come in the offseason, where we’re able to get together and see that development and the connection with his receiver group, with the offensive line. Doing some of the work they hopefully can be doing at the training facility with a more normalized OTA and offseason later in the spring when the vaccinations are out more broadly. But I fully expect (improvement), and I know he expects the same. He’s got a fire in his belly. We’ve all seen it. He’s got a competitive spirit where he wants to win, and he wants to win now. I love that. That’s what I want. That’s what I expect, and that’s what he expects.”

• Dan Duggan of The Athletic says that LB Haason Reddick could be a candidate for the Cardinals franchise tag, yet the price of edge rushers could see him hit the free-agent market.
• Josina Anderson reports that one source spoke about the team losing several free agents in free agency: “It’s going to be tough to fit everybody inside the cap with the number being so much lower. I think it’ll be a lot of one-year prove-it deals out there.”

Seahawks

Seahawks DT Jarran Reed, who is entering the final year of his contract, said he’d like to sign a long-term extension with Seattle. 

“Who knows. I want to be here long-term for sure,” Reed said, via Joe Fann of NBC Sports. “I just control what I can control, and everything will work itself out. I’ve been a Seahawks my whole career, and that’s how I want it to stay.”

Reed believes the Seahawks’ defense began playing better in the second half of the 2020 regular season after requiring some time to adapt with new players. 

“We started to gel together,” Reed said. “We started to play off each other. It took time when you bring bits and pieces in, you’ve got to correlate with each other. It ended up workout out perfectly, getting going. So many people were down on us, but we knew the kind of defense we had. It started to show.”