NFC Notes: 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo, Trey Lance, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said QB Trey Lance came in seventh when the team voted to elect its captains and he was only going to pick the top six. 

“I just didn’t want to put seven on there,” Shanahan said via 49ers Web Zone. “Deebo was eight…We just wanted to go with six. They don’t allow eight to the coin toss, I don’t believe. It’s also his first year of starting for us. There’s not many rookies who end up being the captains. I know this is his second year, but he’s a rookie for us in terms of this is his first time being our starting quarterback.”

Lance didn’t take issue with being left off of the captain’s list.

“Obviously, that’s a goal of mine,” Lance said, “but I don’t think you can look at any six of those guys and be like, ‘That guy’s a bozo,’ because those guys have played football at a very, very high level. So yeah, the situations are different. I voted for every single one of those guys, so I think each and every one of them deserves it. But yeah, it’s definitely a goal of mine moving forward. But those guys have all proved it, and that’s what this league is all about.”

• Pro Football Talk points out the 49ers have had seven captains each of the past two seasons, however. 
• The Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora says the 49ers’ deal to keep QB Jimmy Garoppolo, which included significant playing time and performance bonuses, was interpreted by others around the league as a strong indication he’s going to play soon unless Lance starts the season well.
• One cap executive for another team told La Canfora: “Look at the level of detail that went into that contract. That’s not the kind of thing you do for your backup, right before your raw quarterback makes his first Week 1 start, if you aren’t concerned about him. The deal is structured the way it is because Garoppolo is likely to play. Or they expect him to play. My guess is sooner rather than later.”
• Another GM added: “It’s not what you say; it’s what you do and when you do it. A deal like that doesn’t come together overnight, and it got done right before the season. That tells you all you need to know. They think they need their backup to play.”
• La Canfora adds, citing people with knowledge of the situation, that Lance’s performance in the final preseason game against the Texans which was shaky and which he was kept in an extra series to get more work was what precipitated the reworked deal with Garoppolo. 

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury is hopeful that walkthroughs will keep CB Antonio Hamilton up to speed as he missed time on the Non-Football Injury list but is unsure of his timetable for recovery. 

“We’re hoping walkthroughs here in the near future to keep the mind sharp,” Kingsbury said, via Kellan Olson of ArizonaSports. “We do a bunch of walkthroughs in the indoor, but we’ll see. It’s uncharted territory for me and I think for a lot people around here to see how that’s all going to heal up and then the timetable on it.”

Hamilton wrote on Twitter that he’s grateful to just come away with second-degree burns on his feet after accidentally spilling cooking oil on himself and the mishap could’ve ended much more badly for his family. 

“Had the greatest camp of my career and last Monday I had (an) accident that could’ve ended up deadly for me & my family but instead I got the short end of it by having my feet severely burned (2nd degree). It was literally a freak accident and God spared me to only have these injuries.”

• Cardinals OLB Markus Golden‘s one-year extension includes a $2 million signing bonus and a base salary of $2.91 million in 2023. There are also up to $170,000 in per-game active roster bonuses available. (Over The Cap)

Rams

• According to Over The Cap, Rams RT Rob Havenstein‘s new three-year, $34.5 million extension includes base salaries of $1.5 million, $6.5 million and $6.5 million in the new years of the deal, plus a void year to spread the bonus proration out further. 
• Havenstein’s base salaries in 2022 and 2023 are guaranteed, as well as a $4 million roster bonus in 2023. Another $5 million roster bonus is due in 2024 and there is $11 million in signing and option bonuses.