NFC Notes: 49ers, Giants, Saints

49ers

When talking about the 49ers’ staff, GM John Lynch reaffirmed his belief in them, but their staff intends on taking a “hard look” at ways to improve. 

“We are resolute in our belief in them, but we’re asking everyone to take a hard look,” Lynch said, via Eric Branch of the SF Chronicle. “What can we do better? We’re going to look. We’re going to turn every page and every detail as to what we can do better and to improve our processes.”

Although 49ers CB Richard Sherman and DE Dee Ford suffered through injury problems in 2020, HC Kyle Shanahan praised CB Jason Verrett for playing well this season on a team-friendly $910,000 base salary. 

“Sometimes you have to take some risks, which we have done here in our four years,” Shanahan said. “Some have paid off. Some haven’t. I look at Jason Verrett as a perfect one that has paid off. That was a hell of a deal. That doesn’t mean that you want to do that all the time because we also see some that have been too much of a risk and we haven’t gotten the reward.”

Shanahan doesn’t think Sherman and Ford’s struggles to stay healthy are a reason to not spend on free-agents. 

“It doesn’t mean that you never take a risk again — I think that’d be an overcorrection,” Shanahan said. “You have to take some risks to get to the top in this league, but we also understand that you cannot succeed if that (salary cap) number I just gave you continues. So all that goes into every single decision we’ll ever make. And I’d like to say it always has, too. But the more situations you go through, the more you realize what these decisions are and that risk-reward changes a little bit.” 

Giants

Giants’ GM Dave Gettleman is nervous about the idea of losing OC Jason Garrett, as he and HC Joe Judge are hoping to have the same system in place next year for QB Daniel Jones.

“There always needs to be adjustments year to year,” Judge said, via Pro Football Talk. “The league is always evolving. You’re always trying to find more creative ways to do things. For any player on the team, notably the quarterback, it’s important to have a solid base. But they have to evolve in their careers as we go along the way as well. You can’t be afraid of changes or adjustments within your own systems or schemes, adding different types of plays, finding different ways of being creative within your own personnel.”

Saints

• Katherine Terrell notes that Saints DE Trey Hendrickson (neck) being ruled out on Friday likely means he suffered a setback during practice. 
• Nick Underhill reports that Hendrickson did, in fact, have his stinger injury “act up” during practice this week. 
• After a Thursday tweet hinted at a possible return for the playoffs, some are expecting Saints’ RB Alvin Kamara to play against the Bears on Sunday. Kamara’s 10-day isolation following his positive test for COVID-19 ends on Saturday and he will need to be cleared by league medical officials prior to his return. (Mark Maske)