NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Bucs QB Tom Brady said his arm is fine after getting banged up Sunday night against the Chiefs.

“I’ll be all right,” Brady said, via PFT. “It’s football.”

Falcons

2022 was a pivotal year for Falcons RT Kaleb McGary after the team declined his fifth-year option. But McGary won the starting job in camp and hasn’t looked back, and on Sunday he was a big part of a resurgent performance from the offensive line to pull the Falcons to 2-2. 

“There have been questions about me since I got here,” McGary said via the Athletic’s Josh Kendall. “It always feels good to prove haters wrong. Most of your world is outside noise, you can’t let it get to you, but there’s a little part of you that’s like (flips bird). You know? That part stays deep down because obviously it’s inappropriate.”

The Falcons piled up over 200 yards rushing for the second time this season, and the offensive line has done enough to put the Falcons in the top 10 in a number of offensive categories. 

“There is no question we are trending in the right direction,” Falcons LT Jake Matthews said. “There are still some things we can improve on, but I think we’ve shown some good things. It’s hard to run the football consistently in the NFL because every team is so good. We have to keep doing what we’re doing. It sounds kind of boring, but what that means is consistently showing up, working hard, not taking any shortcuts, executing game plans. If we continue doing that, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”

• ESPN’s Field Yates reports LB Will Compton had a good workout with the Falcons, but a deal will not get done right now and could possibly be revisited later on for a potential playoff push.

Panthers

While the team is struggling to win games, Panthers QB Baker Mayfield seems confident they will figure things out in the coming weeks. 

“Obviously I’m frustrated about the fact that we’re 1-3,” Mayfield said, via Pro Football Talk. “That’s it, though. We’re four weeks into the year. We can sit here and let you guys pile on us or we’re gonna come together as a locker room. That’s exactly how we’re gonna handle it. I don’t really care about the fact that our fans are booing or what’s going on. We’re going to figure it out and when we win it’ll still be just us in the locker room and that’s all I care about. So we’re going to be just fine.”

• Panthers WR Terrace Marshall on if he has been told by the coaching staff when he has a chance to get back out on the field: “No, I’ve been, each week, going out there and grinding and doing what I can to help this team get ready for every week and every team we play, and that’s it.” (Mike Kaye)

Saints

• New Orleans Dot Football’s Nick Underhill reports the Saints offered RB Latavius Murray a spot on the 53-man roster, yet he chose to accept the Broncos’ offer after RB Javonte Williams tore his ACL.