NFC Notes: 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers’ GM John Lynch says there is no doubt that QB Jimmy Garoppolo is still the starter moving forward.

“Jimmy is our quarterback, and we’ve stated that numerous times,” Lynch said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. “Jimmy is as big a part of our plans as he’s ever been. And we’re really excited having Jimmy Garoppolo as our quarterback going into this year. That position is one, they should grow each and every year because they’re more experienced in a scheme,” Lynch said. “And I think we all know this scheme demands a lot from that position. Kyle demands a lot from his quarterbacks.”

• 49ers’ GM John Lynch mentioned DE Ronald Blair‘s recovery from ACL surgery, adding that defensive linemen Solomon Thomas, Kentavius Street, and Kevin Givens are ready to fill the gap: “He’s close but he’s not quite ready.” (Matt Barrows)
• Lynch also spoke about WR Dante Pettis having a strong camp: “A week into camp, the consistency clicked. The mentality was different. The guy we were so excited to draft started to show up on that field. He’s got to go now and do it when it counts. Every indication is he’ll be a big part of what we’re doing” (Cam Inman)
• Lynch also opened up about alleged trade rumors involving CB Ahkello Witherspoon: “It’s not true. We never had that conversation. We have no interest in moving on from Ahkello. We’re really excited about his development. We were big fans when we drafted him and remain big fans.” (Inman)
• As for the injury to WR Deebo Samuel, Lynch is remaining optimistic he plays in Week 1: “He does have a shot. We’re going to Tuesday morning going to have a summit with Dr. Anderson, who did the surgery, Doc McAdams, and training staff to look at scans. Deebo has done a fantastic job. I don’t have an answer because we don’t know it yet.” (Inman)
• Another topic covered by Lynch was that the restructuring of the contract of DE Dee Ford did not indicate any upcoming roster move: “Our roster is pretty much set.” (Eric Branch)

Rams

Rams’ HC Sean McVay made it clear that he doesn’t view the team as nearing a “rebuild.”

“I would never refer to it as that,” said McVay, via Lindsey Thiry of ESPN. “I think that’s making excuses and running away from the expectations we have, which we’ll never do. We expect to win. We expect to prepare to win.”

Seahawks

• ESPN’s Dan Graziano says the Seahawks were monitoring DE Jadeveon Clowney until the end, but never felt seriously in the running given $12 million per year was at the upper end of what they were willing to pay and might even have been outside their budget.