NFC Notes: 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers LB Fred Warner thinks it’s possible for their defense to find a way to be even more aggressive in 2023. 

“It’s always possible,” Warner said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “And I’ll always say, ‘Defense wins championships.’ It’s going to start and end with us. We take that on our shoulders, that responsibility. And we need to be better.”

Warner still has a sour taste from their playoff exit against the Eagles. 

“To say that last year’s ending was hurtful, it was,” Warner said. “It sucks the way that it ended. I feel like we never had a chance to really compete in that game.”

Warner thinks their defense could’ve played better versus Philadelphia

“What are the ways could our defense have been better in that game? That’s what I’m looking at,” Warner said. “How could I have been better for our team and our defense?”

Rams

Rams TE Tyler Higbee says it will be easy for the team to play the chip on their shoulder card this season, as after a 5-12 season and an offseason with significantly more notable departures than arrivals, no one is picking the Rams to win the Super Bowl or even make the playoffs. 

“I think everybody in this organization, you know, feels a little bit of a chip on their shoulder the way last season went. We have had so much success around here in the last handful of years and it’s not like it was last year I should say,” Higbee said via USA Today’s Skyler Carlin. “But again, like I said, every year is a new year so you try to bring that mindset, and not necessarily washing it, you remember what happened, learn from those things that did happen, and then just trying to make it a new year and it’s completely separate from last year.”

Seahawks

• Seahawks assistant QB coach Kerry Joseph was selected to participate in this week’s Coach Accelerator program at the May NFL owners meetings. The program is intended to increase exposure between owners and executives and diverse coaching talent with the goal of increasing the number of minority head coaching hires.