NFC Notes: James Conner, Jared Verse, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

Cardinals

Cardinals RB James Conner wants to help turn things around in Arizona after going 4-13 for two consecutive years and feels they are a well-coached team. 

“I want to turn things around out here. We have a great football team, we’re coached really well, so we want that to reflect on our record and our play. I want to speak up,” Conner said, via Darren Urban of the team’s site. 

Conner is entering the final year of his contract and would love to finish his career with the Cardinals. 

“It would be awesome to finish my career here, but nothing changes,” Conner said. “If anything, it’s time to turn it up even more going into the last year of my deal. I’m thankful I got to see the last year of it, so I’ll go into it with everything I got. We’ll see what happens next year, hopefully stay, but I understand it’s a business.”

Cardinals LB Dennis Gardeck said Conner is stepping up as a leader and feels “every word is meaningful” from the veteran running back. 

“When he speaks it’s heard,” Gardeck said. “Every word is meaningful, and you know if there is something that needs to be corrected and he’s correcting it, it’s something that needs to be fixed now.”

Rams

Rams DE Byron Young had a strong rookie campaign, establishing himself in the plans for Los Angeles at edge. First-round DE Jared Verse has made a strong impression on Young, who loves Verse’s drive and passion for the game. 

“Watching him, the way he’s doing right now, doing way better than me last year,” Young said, via the team’s YouTube. “Coming through OTAs, he’s handling it like a pro so I can already see he’s going to be really special. That’s what I like about him.”

“I’m going to start with Jared Verse. No lie, if you’ve been here so far, he’s just handling it like a pro. His get-off is insane, rushing the passer, every day just showing up, listening, being accountable. Me being a vet and him being younger, he’s listening. He’s just a guy that wants to learn. Every day I talk to him and that’s what I love about him. He’s a guy that’s hungry. He’s definitely hungry.”

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Mike MacDonald said the team doesn’t expect LB Jerome Baker to participate in OTA’s as he works through some “lower body stuff.”

“He’s working through some things right now,” Macdonald said, via PFT. “We probably won’t see him until training camp. He’s going to be fine, but right now we won’t see him out in OTAs.”