NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

There are some around the league, including 49ers TE George Kittle, who believe QB Jimmy Garoppolo is a large part of the 49ers’ success, despite many looking at QB Trey Lance, who hasn’t gotten many chances to prove himself as the future franchise quarterback.

“For a guy that all he does is win, (Garoppolo) sure gets shit on a lot,” one NFC QB coach told Doug Kyed of PFF. “None of these guys are perfect. Guy wins. Period. The 49ers should check their record without him.”

“Jimmy G, you can’t say enough about that guy,” Kittle told reporters after the win over the Packers. “The shit he takes. Consistently people try to pull him down and all he does is try to lead this team. He is the sense of calm in the huddle, he is the sense of calm in the storm. He allows us to play football at a high level.”

“With a long-term horizon, I’d be doing as much as I can to get a top-eight QB,” an anonymous AFC executive said. “That’s pretty challenging, and a hard route to sell when the team is doing OK, though.”

Cardinals

Cardinals RB James Conner is looking forward to sharing the backfield with RB Chase Edmonds again next season.

“We’re both going to play a lot this year, we’re both going to make plays,” Conner said, via AZCardinals.com. “So ‘RB1’ really don’t mean much.”

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury believes that both players have earned new deals next season.

“They both earned good deals as far as I’m concerned,” Kingsbury said. “I hope we can afford both guys because they both had fantastic seasons and they both deserve to get nice contracts. I would love to get both back. I think they complement each other very well. Huge fan of both of those guys. You can’t ask for two guys that work harder or do things the right way.”

Seahawks

• Jeff Howe of The Athletic notes that the Seahawks are not interested in trading QB Russell Wilson unless they are forced.
• According to Howe, multiple teams made strong offers for Wilson previously, but the Seahawks shot them all down. Howe adds that unless Wilson demands a trade or a new contract, Seattle is unlikely to make him available. 

• Brady Henderson of ESPN mentions that RB Rashaad Penny is one of the team’s most exciting free agents after he led the NFL in rushing over the final five games. 
• As for S Quandre Diggs, who broke his leg in Week 18, Henderson pegs him as the team’s only franchise tag candidate, adding that OverTheCap.com projects the tag to be around $13.5 million.
• Following his second Pro Bowl, the team could use the tag on Diggs to buy time for the extension that Diggs wanted last season, according to Henderson.
• Henderson points to the deal of LB Bobby Wagner, who has a salary-cap hit of $20.35 million and would clear $16.6 million should the team move on from him. Henderson also says that if Wagner returns, it will likely be on a new deal.
• Seattle WR D.K. Metcalf is also eligible for a contract extension which could clear even more cap space for the team.