NFC Notes: Cardinals, Christian McCaffrey, Rams, Seahawks, Geno Smith

Cardinals

Cardinals RB Eno Benjamin said he’s not demanding more snaps and is always preparing himself as a starting running back. 

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay gave his thoughts on the 49ers trading for RB Christian McCaffrey, with Los Angeles one of the teams in the final running.

“You thought, ‘Oh, s—. They’re getting another great player?'” McVay said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “As a competitor, you say, ‘Hey, they’ve got him. We’ve got to be able to move forward accordingly, and it just so happens that they’re on the schedule this week.”

“I think he’s a phenomenal player,” McVay added. “Obviously we saw him recently. I’ve always had respect for his game and his versatility. That’s your first inclination, and then you know what a great job Kyle and his staff do in maximizing and utilizing offensive weapons.”

• Rams fifth-round RB Kyren Williams will not play this week. McVay said the team may use the full 21-day window to integrate him into the offense. (Jourdan Rodrigue)
• McVay said no trade is imminent, but not out of the question: “It doesn’t seem like anything is imminent, but you never know with us, right?” (Sarah Barshop)

Seahawks

Seahawks QB Geno Smith continued his excellent start to the season, tossing two touchdowns and leading Seattle to a dominant road win against the Chargers. He’s playing like a top-five quarterback in the league this season, which is shocking to just about everyone except for Smith after the narrative had seemingly already been written on him as a busted draft pick and journeyman backup. 

“I know I might’ve struggled out the gate in pro football. That’s just the reality of the NFL,” Smith said via NBC Sports’ Peter King. “Sometimes they give up on you fast. The numbers at the beginning of my career are kind of skewed if you ask me. If you look at Peyton Manning, if you just judge his rookie season, you’d never think Peyton Manning would’ve become what he became. Steve Young too. Troy Aikman. The list goes on and on and on. Just gotta have patience with young quarterbacks. You gotta find the right young quarterbacks with the right mentality who are gonna continue to work and have a great attitude about the game and the struggle.”

“Over the years, not playing was heartbreaking,” Smith added. “I’m so competitive and I love playing so much that I really wanted to be out there every single game. But what’s that cliche? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? I know I’m better for all those years. Coming into this year, I wasn’t sure what would happen [after the trade of Wilson to Denver]. When Pete Carroll hit me up and was like, ‘Hey I’m giving you opportunity to compete for the job,’ I mean, that’s all you have to say to me. That was awesome. He’s shown faith in me. That’s just what I need.”

Smith plays with a ton of emotion, and that was evident during the game as he directed a lot of his celebrations after big plays toward the Chargers sideline, where he spent a year of his NFL odyssey as a backup. However, he said proving his doubters wrong doesn’t really factor into his weekly prep. 

“You ask me what am I focused on during the week. Playing hard, doing what I’m coached to do. It’s that simple,” he said. “I don’t think about failure. My thought process is I need to run on the field with my linemen and play just as hard as they’re playing and do exactly what I’m coached to do and then let my talent take over after that. It’s that simple in my mind.”

• Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said WR D.K. Metcalf went through a walkthrough Wednesday but didn’t practice. Metcalf is feeling better but the team plans on taking it easy with him. (Curtis Crabtree)
• Carroll said they plan on adding CB Tre Brown to the competition at corner and will see how it goes. (Bob Condotta)