NFC Notes: Brandon Aiyuk, Bobby Wagner, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

When asked about 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk‘s looming contract negotiations, GM John Lynch points out that Aiyuk is set to play under the fifth-year option and they need to figure out how they’ll prioritize different situations. 

“You have to prioritize all these things,” Lynch said, via ProFootballTalk. “Brandon’s entering his fifth-year option. Brandon’s been a fantastic player for us. Kyle [Shanahan] calls him a warrior all the time because of the way he goes out and competes. That shines through. Anybody, whether you’re a trained eye or whether you’re a fan, you can see the passion he plays with. You can see the production that he’s had. We’re extremely prideful in what he’s become and he should be as well. And so, your team is comprised of guys, veterans who’ve been paid very well, of guys who want to be paid very well. We’ve got one guy on our team who is pretty prominent who can’t be paid real well right now because the CBA doesn’t allow [it]. So it’s all one big puzzle. We’ve developed a good cadence over the years, Kyle and I, where he focuses on the season. We do all the planning and then we present things to him and we work through it. That’s what we’ll continue to do. But of course you want a guy like Brandon Aiyuk to be a part of you going forward.”

Rams

Rams S Quentin Lake is one of several young, unheralded players who stepped up and helped Los Angeles be far better on defense than expected in 2023. He has a chance for a bigger role in 2024 depending on which starters leave in free agency, which is saying something because the coaching staff already put a ton of different assignments on Lake’s plate last year. 

“It was good. It was honestly an honor to show, one, my versatility. But honestly, how much the coaches trusted me,” he said in an interview with the LAFB Network. “That was a big thing. How the coaches trusted me to move from safety to nickel, or nickel to safety within a game. But a lot of it comes down to film study, like I said, having the coaches trust you. It was fun being in different spots. My football comparison, not that I want to compare myself to somebody, but really, like Kyle Hamilton, what he was doing on the Ravens defense. I feel like I had a similar role to what he was doing, on the Rams defense. Being able to blitz, cover, be back there coming out of the half, coming out of the middle of the field. It was fun, it was a good time.”

Seahawks

• The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar notes the Seahawks are set to lose both LBs Jordyn Brooks and Bobby Wagner on expiring deals this offseason, which would leave them super thin at the position.
• He expects them to try to re-sign Brooks but it could take a salary that puts Brooks inside the top 10 in terms of salary for off-ball linebackers at more than $10 million per season. 
• As for Wagner, Dugar points out former Seahawks HC Pete Carroll was a big part of Wagner coming back after a year with the Rams. Carroll had hinted before that he was talked into cutting Wagner by GM John Schneider, who has a much bigger say now that Carroll is not the head coach. 
• Dugar expects the Seahawks to let Wagner walk and replace him with a rookie plus an inexpensive veteran. 
• According to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, the Seahawks are hiring Rams pass game specialist Jake Peetz as their pass game coordinator,
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Seahawks are hiring former Steelers WRs coach Frisman Jackson to the same role in Seattle.
• NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero also reports the Seahawks are expected to hire former Raiders RBs coach Kennedy Polamalu as their new running backs coach.