NFC Notes: Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

Cardinals

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler points out the Cardinals have made big financial commitments to WR DeAndre Hopkins and DE J.J. Watt recently while OLB Chandler Jones is entering the final year of his contract without any new commitment, hence why Jones’ contract is a potentially brewing issue that could lead to a trade if not addressed. 
• Fowler adds the Cardinals should be able to find a team willing to give up at least a late-round pick for LB Jordan Hicks given he’s still a solid starter and recently reworked his contract to be very affordable in 2021. 

Rams

Rams RB Cam Akers said the game has started to come easier to him in his second season.

“Mentally, everything has just slowed down, everything is easier for me,” Akers said via Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News. “I understand the playbook a lot more, I understand blocking schemes, I understand who I need to block.”

HC Sean McVay said Akers ability as both a running back and receiver makes him stand out from the rest.

“He’s obviously a great runner, but he’s got ability as a pass-catcher coming from the backfield, and we can displace him and put him in the slot or the outside receiver location,” McVay said. “There’s not any limitations, but we’ll see how it comes to life.”

Seahawks

Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf admits that he wanted to achieve an Olympic Trials qualifying time in the 100-meter dash over the offseason but is now focused on minicamp. 

“My goal was to try to qualify for the Olympic Trials but who knows what my future holds,” said Metcalf, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “I’m living everything day by day, taking it day by day and right now I’m just focused on football and OTAs.”

Metcalf mentioned that he was inspired by the U.S. Track and Field’s Twitter post which jokingly invited NFL players to race for an Olympic Trial time. 

“Once they sent the tweet out, I thought it was an open invitation for me to take it and I went with it,” Metcalf said.

In the end, Metcalf said he is sticking with football. 

“That those are some fast human beings,” Metcalf said. “They are very fast and very good at what they do, and I’m going to stick to football for right now.”