NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks, Pete Carroll

49ers

49ers LT Trent Williams said 2021 second-round G Aaron Banks has shown up to camp in improved shape and is beginning to see a massive jump from him in year two.

“I think he started in OTAs by showing up and looking noticeably different,” Williams said via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. “Then he followed it up with another good four weeks after OTAs. Now it’s camp and he’s noticeably different. … His jump from Year 1 to Year 2 gives everybody a lot of confidence in him.”

Williams noted Banks’ body transformation is the biggest thing he noticed going into his second year.

“His body,” he said. “You look at his body composition, you can tell that he worked. It’s one thing to lose weight, and it’s (another) thing to lose weight and add muscle. And you can tell that’s what he did, and it’s what’s allowing him to take advantage of all the talent he has in that body.”

Cardinals

• Cardinals LT D.J. Humphries‘ three-year, $50.94 million extension included a $17 million signing bonus, with all but $3.823 million of his 2022 base salary folded into that to lower his cap hit. He had previously been due $15 million in 2022. (Over The Cap)
• Humphries has base salaries of $5.5 million, $15.735 million, and $15.745 million in the new years of the deal, as well as an $8 million roster bonus that is guaranteed in 2023. There’s up to $240,000 annually in per-game active roster bonuses. 

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll addressed both quarterbacks when speaking about the competition under center in Seattle, but continues to note that veteran QB Geno Smith has an edge over QB Drew Lock.

“They keep doing stuff every day, and they’re making plays,” Carroll said, via Pro Football Talk. “They both make plays every day. I’m watching to see how it swings; if it goes heavy one way, heavy the other way. The guys are doing a nice job. We’re working hard to match up the reps with the guys that play up in front, and the receivers, we’re working to get that done, and that’ll happen, and you’ll see how it happens again tomorrow, how the reps are handed out, just so that we can make it a really even competition. Geno continues to be on top, he’s ahead, he’s been in the lead for all the obvious reasons, and he’s holding onto it and doing a really good job of battling. Both guys are communicating beautifully, they’re learning well, and we don’t have any issues with anything we’re trying to do. There are no issues here where we have to ‘Oh, we can’t quite do this or that with this guy or that guy,’ it isn’t like that. They’re very talented arm-wise, and the ability to throw the ball down the field is there. So, let the games begin. Getting out there, now we’re in the middle of it, and we’ll see what happens. It’s a really big day tomorrow. It’ll be a really big day tomorrow.”

Carroll went further on why Smith is still considered the starter at this time. 

“He’s just doing things right,” Carroll said of Smith. “He handles the system, he’s making the checks at the line of scrimmage, he’s able to control the protections and working with [center] Austin [Blythe], those guys are hitting it really well, and he’s just really talented. He’s made great throws every day. I’m still looking for them to really come in, and really own it, and put days together where they don’t have any negative plays, the plays that they wish they had back. So, in a sense, there’s been openings for both guys by not having the complete day, getting everything done, and finishing the day close to perfect.”

He was also asked about how Lock could make his way up to number one on the depth chart.

“Just stay out there,” Carroll said of Lock. “He just needs to stay out there and show us how he’s going to make his decisions when the big opportunities come. He’s made a ton of plays already. He’s made a ton of good throws, he really runs well, he’s elusive, he has a really quick trigger, his ability to release the football shows up, and he has a lot of talent now. So we just need reps. We need turns, we just need to see more situations to really find any reason to see a difference between the guys. There’s just not enough stuff yet.”

• Lock had an impressive performance in a scrimmage on Saturday. Afterward, Smith said he wanted to make it clear he’d support Lock even if he lost the battle to start: “As far as the competition, I’m not the one judging all that so I’ll leave it up to the coaches, but I think Drew played really well. I will go on record and say I have his back. No matter what, I have Drew Lock’s back. I want that to be known …” (Brady Henderson)