Cardinals
- SI.com’s Howard Balzer writes that while it has been quiet between the Cardinals and WR DeAndre Hopkins regarding a new contract after the trade from Houston, a deal is still expected to get done.
- Balzer points out Cardinals GM Steve Keim and Hopkins’ agent Todd France are close, so it’s likely Keim follows through on reworking the receiver’s deal even with the complications from the virus.
- Hopkins has three years left on his deal with non-guaranteed base salaries of $12.5 million, $13.5 million and $13.915 million.
- Darren Urban of the team website thinks Cardinals OT Marcus Gilbert wins the starting right tackle job ahead of Justin Murray, who started when Gilbert was hurt last year, and third-round rookie OT Josh Jones.
49ers
49ers DE Nick Bosa said first-round DE Javon Kinlaw is a perfect fit for their defensive scheme and DL coach Kris Kocurek is excited to work with him.
“Oh, man, he just fits our scheme so perfectly,” Bosa said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “I know Kris is champing at the bit to get him in the building and get him doing some get-offs. I’m just so excited to play with the caliber of player like that.”
Bosa feels that his rookie year was “really helpful” toward learning the speed of the NFL but it “takes a little bit of time” to get acclimated.
“It’s really helpful to get a year under it because there’s a learning curve,” Bosa said. “But once you get it, it’s unbelievable. But it takes a little bit of time. Now we’re going to walk straight into knowing the technique and improve it.”
49ers GM John Lynch said all three of their targets were still available at No. 13 overall, prompting them to trade down to No. 14 with the Buccaneers.
“Going in, I would say, with the 13th pick, we had probably three guys that we were going to stand pat,” Lynch said. “If they were there, we were drafting them. When we arrived at 13, those three were still there. And so, at that point, we start saying, ‘Wow, let’s try to find a trade partner.’ But we don’t want to go back too far because Kinlaw was No. 1 on that list.’”
Rams
- The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue and Rich Hammond write that Rams LT Andrew Whitworth, RT Rob Havenstein and C Austin Blythe are all likely starters in 2020.
- The two add the Rams will have an intense competition for the two starting guard spots, with Joseph Noteboom, David Edwards, Bobby Evans, Austin Corbett and potentially C Brian Allen.
- Noteboom is seen by the Rams as a potential heir to Whitworth at left tackle, so he has an edge lead for a starting spot, but he played poorly in 2019 before going down with a knee injury.
- Hammond thinks Corbett and Edwards win the starting job with Noteboom’s availability in doubt, while Rodrigue predicts Noteboom and Evans will start at guard.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
