49ers
49ers GM John Lynch commented on the team making a trade with the Panthers for RB Christian McCaffrey.
“Everything is a gamble,” Lynch said, via Pro Football Talk. “Hopefully, it’s a well-thought-out gamble, and you put a lot of thought into it. I know we have. I’d also say, I believe like a lot of really good players, he’s a lot more than just a running back. I think he’s a perfect player for the way Kyle [Shanahan] and our offensive staff do things. I think he brings a lot more than just running back skills. He’s an incredibly accomplished receiver. He’s got a tremendous feel. He can play with speed, he can play with power, he can play with a quickness. He can do it all. And we’ve seen that firsthand playing against him. You’ve seen it right up to the last game he played. He’s an excellent football player. There’s no denying that and we like adding guys like that to the mix.”
Lynch was also asked about the injury history surrounding McCaffrey and if it was a factor in the trade.
“We discussed it all,” Lynch said. “First of all, you have to look at his history coming out of Stanford, really a pristine health record. The last couple of years have been rough, but it really felt like this year he had reestablished that health. I’ve been there in my own career. I started off and struggled to stay on the field then went eight, or nine years without missing a game. Sometimes there are those ebbs and flows. You can never have complete certainty on that, that’s beyond our control, but we try to make the best decision we can. This guy has played a lot of football this year, really good football throughout his career and he’s an extremely versatile player. He’s an explosive football player, he’s a smart football guy. I can go on and on. He checks all the boxes.”
Cardinals
Cardinals WR Robbie Anderson felt it was inevitable that he would eventually be traded from Carolina.
“I feel like that was destined for me, and it’s no mistake I am here,” he said, via the team’s official website.
Anderson said he’s ready to do whatever the team asks of him this week and throughout the remainder of the season.
“I want to be able to master my craft but it’s not a normal week,” Anderson said, “so I am trying to pick up everything they selected me to learn and master what I can. Whatever they put on my plate, I’ll give my all.”
Cardinals QB Kyler Murray said he’s familiar with Anderson and is excited to have him in Arizona.
“I’m very familiar (with Anderson) in just playing against him a couple times, understanding his skillset, and what he’s capable of,” Murray said. “I’m excited for him as well. I know through the grapevine, social media and stuff like that, he hasn’t been very happy or whatever the past couple years, but I know he can go, so I’m looking forward to it.”
- Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury on WR A.J. Green‘s status with the team: “We’re gonna work through that. With all these pieces now, it’s gonna be a challenge for us to maximize who we have.” (Josh Weinfuss)
Rams
When the Rams signed LB Bobby Wagner this offseason, it meant promising second-year LB Ernest Jones was pushed into a little bit more of a secondary role. However, Los Angeles thought the long-term benefits of getting a mentor like Wagner for Jones early in his career outweighed the downside, and so far that’s playing out.
“He’s such a smart player, such an amazing player,” Wagner said via the Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue. “One thing that I appreciate about his game is he puts in the work. He comes in and he studies and he asks questions, things of that nature. He’s elevating his game every single day and that’s really what you want to see from a guy (who) is young, just having that curiosity.”
- Rams CB Jalen Ramsey was fined $15,914 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Panthers QB P.J. Walker. (Tom Pelissero)
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