NFC Notes: Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer writes there were some financial considerations for 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo accepting a reworked deal. San Francisco could have held onto him another couple of weeks and he was unlikely to make anywhere near the $6.5 million he got in base salary, plus other incentives and bonuses. 
• Breer adds at this point in the offseason, Garoppolo saw a lot of benefit in staying with a team and system he was familiar with, rather than having to play catchup at this point with a new team, in case he gets the opportunity to play via injury or poor performance from starting QB Trey Lance.
• There’s also still a chance for Garoppolo to be traded, per Breer, if another team loses a quarterback to injury. 
• The Athletic’s Matt Barrows points out the no-trade and no-tag clause preserves the ability for Garoppolo to hit unrestricted free agency in 2023, which has been his primary focus for a while, including when he made the decision to have shoulder surgery in March. 
• 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said the reason Garoppolo wasn’t participating in practice was because it felt like the chances were “slim to none” of him staying. (Nick Wagoner)
• 49ers GM John Lynch said he and Shanahan talked about Garoppolo staying around a month ago after his agents felt all trade options were exhausted when no new quarterback injuries occurred during the preseason. (Barrows)
• Shanahan on Lance’s reaction to the team retaining Garoppolo: “Trey was great. (He) had no problems with it at all.” (Matt Maiocco)
• Shanahan on Garoppolo being caught up on the offense despite missing practice time: “We have zero worries about him not having a playbook. I don’t have one, either.” (Maiocco)
• Shanahan on the quarterback situation as it stands: “We felt strongly giving the keys to Trey. I can’t wait to get him started on our team in Week 1. Having Jimmy as a backup makes us feel really good because we have a starting quarterback as a backup. The rest of the league had a chance to get him and I feel very fortunate.” (Cam Inman)

Cardinals

• Cardinals LB Isaiah Simmons told reporters that he will be wearing the green dot on his helmet as the defensive play-caller this season. (Howard Balzer)

Rams

• Rams HC Sean McVay announced RB Cam Akers and RB Darrell Henderson returned to practice Monday. (Gary Klein)

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll spoke about QB Drew Lock, who has found himself losing out on a starting job for the second time early on in his career.

“He can play,” Carroll said of Smith, via Pro Football Talk. “I don’t have any question that he can play. I really don’t. He’s got all the athleticism. He’s got the arm strength. He’s got arm talent. He’s got creativity about him. All of that. I think he’s going to be a fantastic football player soon, so it’s just a matter of he just didn’t quite have enough time to beat out a guy who knew exactly what he was doing and who just stayed at it and really just won the job because of his consistency and really his performance.”

Lock admitted it was a bummer but reiterated, like he said earlier this preseason, that he has Smith’s back. 

“As a competitor, you’re always disappointed, and I was disappointed,” Lock said. “You want to be out there. You want to be playing with those guys. You want to be able to step on the field and show you can do it. Yeah, you’re disappointed, but now it’s my job to have his back and be the best teammate I can be. I need to come out every day and find ways to make this team better and make myself better. I have to strive to get better every single day. I know I won’t be taking the reps, but there are a lot of ways you can get better. I learned a lot about what to do last year in this situation and how to be ready for any chance that I get. I just need to get better any day.”

Lock also spoke about difficulties dealing with COVID-19, which kept him from starting the second preseason game, but isn’t using that as an excuse for losing out on the job.

“The easy answer is anytime you miss a game it sets you back whether it’s preseason or regular season,” Lock said. “The Raiders, obviously, I was very disappointed that I didn’t get to play in that game, but I came out in practice this week a lot better, and I had an opportunity.”