NFC Notes: Christian McCaffrey, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams, Cam Akers

49ers

49ers GM John Lynch said they were pretty happy with their offense heading into the last couple weeks before the trade deadline. But they also had a high regard for RB Christian McCaffrey as a playmaker, so when the chance came to trade for him, they jumped in. 

“We really zeroed in on him,” Lynch said via the Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. “We liked our team as it was put together. So it had to be a difference-maker. I always love the conversations when you go down and mention something to Kyle. He’s like, ‘Naw, there’s no way we’re getting that guy. There’s no way. You’re dreaming.’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s all right to dream. Let me go work on it, see what we’ve got.’ We kept kind of playing the thing through.

“We were on it early with hopes to close it out before everyone got involved; that wasn’t going to happen. … (The Panthers) had a high standard; they had a high mark set for what it was going to take to move him. And then when you get multiple teams in, it became steep.

“But we really felt that Christian’s impact — he’s such a versatile player, he can do so much in the run game, in the pass game. We felt like he would lift the boats. He’d make Jimmy (Garoppolo) a better player, he’d make our team a better team. I think you add him with Deebo (Samuel) and their skill sets, although they play different positions, they really mirror each other quite well. I think just to add those guys, with the emergence of Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle, you really present a pick-your-poison type dilemma for defenses. Yeah, it cost a lot in terms of compensation. But in the end, we felt it was well worth it. … He’s not going to throw for a touchdown, run for a touchdown and catch one every game. But just his presence will affect the game in a big way every week.”

Cardinals

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray said WR Robbie Anderson will be up to speed this weekend.

“You’ve kind of just got to force everything on him and see if he can take all the information in as quickly as possible and if not back off a little bit,” Murray said, via PFT. “I think he’s a very smart player and he understands what we’re doing now. This is week three for him, so he’ll be up to speed by this weekend for sure.”

Rams

Rams DC Raheem Morris said the team still believes in RB Cam Akers and he will need to prove himself again to his teammates and the coaching staff.

“We had a disagreement,” Morris said, via Orange County Register. “Cam and our system, right? He stepped away from the building a little bit and now you gotta invite him back into the fold. Sometimes you gotta get away from tough situations to go through some adversities to have that ability to come back and shine. Those two (Akers and McVay) will mend out their differences. We drafted Cam for a reason. We believe in him. He can run the football, he can make people miss and he’s gotta get back to doing that and he’s gotta prove it again to his teammates and he’s gotta prove it again to his coaches.”

Akers said there wasn’t a disagreement with the offensive system and wasn’t sure why he was told to stay away for three weeks.

“I want to know the same thing,” Akers said. “I don’t know what happened. I was prepared because I had to be. I don’t know where it came from or how it happened, but it don’t matter at this point. I’m here. I’m in house, back with the team, so I’m happy.”

Akers made it clear he never asked to be traded or released.

“I never asked to not be a part of the team,” Akers said. “I never asked to not play. I never asked to not practice…I never asked to be traded. Nobody wants to get traded or released.”

Rams DL Aaron Donald said it was good to see Akers back within the building.

“It was good to see him,” Donald said. “He looked like he was in good spirits. To see Cam out there, he had a smile on his face, it’s good.”

Rams OC Liam Coen agreed that Akers deserves a second chance to prove himself.

“I think players believe and I believe, and our staff does, that everybody deserves a second chance,” Coen said. “Whatever the issues are or things that have occurred, if we make the decision to bring somebody back, and Cam is all on board, the players, the staff, everybody is onboard to make that decision. It doesn’t just come overnight and just decide. It’s something that we’ve been talking about and everybody is on board, so see where it goes.”

• Rams HC Sean McVay is glad to have RB Cam Akers back with the team: “We’re a better team when he ends up being the guy that we know… Sometimes you got to be able to work through things and have good conversations… The most important thing for us is he’s back.” (Gary Klein)