49ers
49ers GM John Lynch said DL Javon Kinlaw is going into the offseason healthy after dealing with a knee injury last season.
โIโm really excited for (Kinlaw) because heโs going into an offseason healthy,โ Lynch said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. โWeโre committed to him and watching him be part of this group. Heโs excited about that.โ
Lynch thinks injuries have held back Kinlaw during his time in San Francisco.
โMaybe because of the injuries it hasnโt gone as well as we all might have anticipated, as well as it would have had he been healthy,โ Lynch said. โThatโs part of this thing, so now he is healthy. He gets to be a part of how we rotate guys in and out. Heโs going to be part of that rotation.โ
Lynch said he and HC Kyle Shanahan identified the defensive line as an area for improvement.
โKyle and I started talking, โHow do you improve this team?โโ Lynch said. โAnd the one area that was glaring to us โ and itโs interesting to say this because we were the No. 1 defense in football โ but we felt like weโd fallen off maybe just a tad on the D-line. It wasnโt as dominant as we were accustomed to back in โ19. And we wanted to get back to that.โ
- 49ers OT Matt Pryor‘s one-year, $1.08 million salary includes a $50,000 workout bonus and a $102,500 bonus for appearing in 50.2 percent of the snaps, via Aaron Wilson.
- Appalachian State RB Camerun Peoples met with the 49ers at his pro day. (Tony Pauline)
- Minnesota S Jordan Howden has a top 30 visit scheduled with the 49ers. (Ryan Fowler)
Cardinals
- Per Howard Balzer, new Cardinals LB Josh Woods‘ new contract is for one year at $1,232,500 and includes $777,500 guaranteed. There is also a $152,500 signing bonus and a salary of $1.08 million with $625,000 guaranteed.
- Balzer also mentions that the team has given CB Rashad Fenton a one-year contract worth $1,232,500 that includes a signing bonus of $76,250 guaranteed, a $1.08 million salary, and a $76,250 roster bonus.
- The Cardinals met with TCU CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson following his pro day. (Tony Pauline)
- The Cardinals will host TCU RB Kendre Miller for a top 30 visit. (Aaron Wilson)
Rams
New Rams TE Hunter Long is excited to be in Los Angeles and work with TEs coach Nick Caley, even if he was surprised to be traded by the Dolphins.
โDefinitely, it was a surprise for me, but Iโm really excited for it,โ Long said, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official site. โReally excited to join the Rams, really excited to get out there and start working with the coaching staff. Coach (Nick) Caleyโs a great tight end coach they just brought in, so Iโm really excited to start working with him. But yeah, just excited for the opportunity. Itโs a great opportunity for me and excited to take advantage of it.โ
Long called playing for the Dolphins a “tricky situation” given they already had multiple established tight ends when he was a third-round pick in 2021.
โI came into kind of a tricky situation. I came into a tight end room that already had five tight ends, and three established tight ends,โ Long said. โAs a rookie, my role was with a rookie role and kind of plugged in where I could and do I what could. This last year, I definitely carved out a bigger role for myself. Unfortunately, dealt with some injuries early on, and kind of picked up steam later in the season when I was able to get over those injuries. I was definitely in more of a blocking role this year, but that was not because I canโt run routes and catch the ball, you know? Iโm as team guy as they come, and whatever the team needs to do to win games and help the team be successful, Iโm gonna do and do to the best of my ability. So thatโs all I was asked to do, and I tried to excel at that, but thatโs obviously not my whole game.โ
- The Rams will host TCU RB Kendre Miller for a top 30 visit. (Aaron Wilson)
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