NFC Notes: Geno Smith, Sam Howell, Leonard Floyd, 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

The 49ers are going through massive changes on the defensive line, as they brought in five new bodies for 2024. San Francisco DL coach Kris Kocurek highlighted what each player can bring and detailed how they plan on lining up DL Leonard Floyd. 

“Last year in Buffalo, he played 50-50 between a two-point and a three-point stance. In L.A. (with the Rams), it was more of a two-point deal,” Kocurek said, via Matt Barrows and David Lombardi of The Athletic. “Early in his career in Chicago, he was more of a two-point player. We’ll do a little bit of both with him. When we had Dee Ford here, he was primarily a two-point dude, and once he got here, there were certain situations we wanted him with his hand in the ground, and there’ll be certain situations we want Leonard with his hand in the ground. Sometimes, we’ll stand him up like you saw Dee Ford in ’19 and ’20, standing up on the edge.”

“Anytime a player is really good at something, I’d be an idiot to take it away from him and say, ‘You can’t do that.’ We’re always known as a hand-in-the-dirt defense, but when you have a unique skill set that can excel from a two-point stance, you don’t want to just totally take that away from a player.”

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said recently signed OL Evan Brown is proving to be a high-character and “extremely intelligent” addition 

“His football character is awesome. He’s a guy that loves to practice, loves to train. He’s extremely intelligent and he’s a powerful cat. He can apply force into the ground and into his opponent, so that’s been cool to see,” Gannon said, via CardsWire. 

Brown is looking forward to the offensive line competition they’ll have in training camp. 

“We’ve got a lot of guys who have played a lot of ball and I think that brings competition to the room. No matter what the position is, competition is going to bring out the best of everybody and that’s all you want as a team,” Brown said. “You want the best 11 out there functioning as a unit and when everybody’s pushing themselves to get a little bit better every day due to competition, it’s only going to bring out the best in the team.”

Brown said their offensive line has been building camaraderie off of the field. 

“It’s spending time when you’re in the building together and offensive line-wise, we’re always together,” Brown said. “We’re spending time together outside the building, whether it’s dinners, hanging out, playing games, whatever it may be. It’s just building that camaraderie between the group. You have to do that. Anytime you’ve got new guys who haven’t really worked together or don’t really know each other, I think the best way to build up that relationship is spending time off the field to improve the play on the field.”

Seahawks

Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson said that QB Geno Smith is “well ahead” of QB Sam Howell and there isn’t a competition at quarterback.

“There is no contract drama hanging over the Seahawks’ offseason, nor is there a quarterback competition, but there is plenty of intrigue,” Henderson said, via Seahawks Wire. “Smith and Howell are learning new coordinator Ryan Grubb’s scheme, which he estimated in early June to be almost 50% installed. The three OTAs that were open to reporters were heavy on 11-on-11 work, which made it clear that Smith, who has already been declared the starter and took all the No. 1 reps, is well ahead of Howell. Mandatory minicamp will offer a better look at each quarterback’s progress since receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett should both be there after being in and out during OTAs…”