NFC Notes: Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks

Cardinals

• At a golf tournament, Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald didn’t offer any inkling on where he’s leaning on retirement: “I’m just playing golf right now, that’s all I’m worried about.” (Jose Romero)
• Fitzgerald added he has “no timeline” for a decision on his future. (Cameron Cox)

49ers

49ers TE George Kittle defended Jimmy Garoppolo during an appearance on “Good Morning Football,” saying he believes injuries were what held back the quarterback this past season. 

“I definitely see Twitter likes to talk. In my opinion, that’s all it is: It’s talk, and it’s chatter,” Kittle said, via Kevin Patra of Around the NFL. “The Niners aren’t in the playoffs this year, so let’s look at the biggest headlines, and what else is there to talk about except our handsome quarterback, Jimmy G? That’s all everybody wants to talk about for some reason, but it is what it is. Jimmy’s a hell of a quarterback, took us to a Super Bowl last year. Unfortunately, some injuries prohibited us this year and I know prohibited him from performing at his best.”

Kittle praised Garoppolo’s leadership around the organization and is confident that San Francisco can challenge for another Super Bowl with him. 

“I still believe in Jimmy G. I think he’s an incredible quarterback. I think he can lead us to another Super Bowl. I think we can win a Super Bowl with him. I can’t even talk enough about his leadership skills on and off the field. I feel like I’ve answered this question about 200 times now since I last talked to you guys after last Super Bowl, but I’ll keep dying on the sword because I think Jimmy G’s a fantastic quarterback. He’s got an amazing release, got a great arm and a great touch. So I’m happy to have Jimmy G as my quarterback and I know that we can win with him.”

• Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline writes that while the 49ers were among the teams interested in trading for QB Matthew Stafford, he wouldn’t characterize them as “heavily involved” or “close” in trade talks. 

Seahawks

When asked about his coaching philosophy, Seahawks’ new OC Shane Waldron said he intends to be protective about limiting turnovers. 

“It’s always going to be all about the ball,” Waldron said, via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “It starts there from an offensive perspective. There’s no greater statistic that leads to wins and losses than that turnover differential, so it’s always going to be something that’s emphasized. And it’s not just about the guys carrying the ball; it’s going to be all 11 every play cognizant of the ball, cognizant of what their role is within the play and how they can protect the football.”

Waldron plans to run a balanced offense in Seattle, but this doesn’t necessarily mean he plans to be conservative. 

“We want to be the one that puts the foot on the gas pedal,” Waldron said. “Just saying that it’s a balanced attack doesn’t mean that that’s a conservative attack, so I don’t ever want to get that confused. That will really be the core philosophy that we live by as far as the starting point with run vs. pass vs. any other schematic things we want to get into.”

Waldron mentioned that he didn’t have any previous conversations with Seahawks HC Pete Carroll prior to Seattle requesting an interview.

“I’ve always just respected him from afar or from the opposite sideline,” Waldron said. “I’ve never had a chance to really interact with them before Seattle reached out to start this interview process. So that was really the way this thing started.”

Waldron added that he’s already spoken to Russell Wilson but did not focus their conversation around football. 

“Had a great chance to get to know him as a person,’’ Waldron said. “Talked a lot about our families and just really getting to know each other more as people because I do think, you know, the football part of it, that’s going to be an important part of it when the time’s right.’’

As for calling plays for the Seahawks in 2021, Waldron said he is excited for the new challenge and pointed out that he had some play-calling experience with the Rams in the 2019 preseason. 

“So I’ve had a little hand in it that way, knowing that that’s obviously not the real deal,” Waldron said. “But like I said, it’s just one of those things where I feel like I’m a guy that likes to prepare. I want to be organized. I want to have a really consistent approach, and in my mind, that preparation began a long time ago and I can’t wait for this chance to go ahead and do it.”