NFC Notes: John Lynch, Kyler Murray, Geno Smith, 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

49ers GM John Lynch said it’s been a seamless reunion with DC Robert Saleh after bringing him back to the Bay Area.

“It’s awesome to have Saleh back. It felt like he never left, to be honest,” Lynch said, via Around The NFL. “You get very close with folks when you work with them as much as we do. Saleh brought a great deal when he was last here, I think he’s even better now with the experiences he’s had. And it’s a welcome sight to have him back, the energy that he brings, the expertise that he brings, the leadership he brings. We’re very happy to have Robert and his growing family. That has grown quite a bit since he last left, I think number eight on the way. Happy for Sanaa and Robert and we love their family. We love what Robert brings. I remember meeting with him in my backyard when Kyle asked me, ‘Hey, I want you to interview this guy. I think he’d be a great DC for us.’ And he had me from that moment on.”

Lynch didn’t dismiss the idea of potentially bringing back DT Javon Hargrave to help bolster Saleh’s defense.

“It is, but I would tell you, I think that the D tackle market’s going to be, it’s a premium position and they typically do well,” he said. “And even Javon, who’s coming off the tricep, I think he’s well on his way to being healthy, and I think it’d be a robust market, but we’ll see. And we’ve had good discussions with Javon. When we kind of talked about the transaction we were going to make that, yeah, we’d be interested in a scenario where he comes back and hopefully we can be involved in that. We’ll see.”

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said the team missing the playoffs wasn’t on QB Kyler Murray and added that the lack of success was a team-wide issue.

“I don’t think it’s the quarterback, it’s the whole team. Myself, it’s the whole team,” Gannon said, via PFT. “I’m really excited where he’s at right now. I really am. I’m not going to make any power statements but he’s going to have a hell of a year, I know that.”

Seahawks

Seahawks GM John Schneider said he hopes to come to an agreement on a contract extension with QB Geno Smith while also doing right by the team.

“We expect him to be our guy,” Schneider said, via NY Times. “But we want to do what’s right, too.”

Smith believes he’s one of the best quarterbacks in football and admitted that he wants to be compensated as such.

“I don’t want to get into specific conversations,” Schneider said when asked if Smith has expressed that he’d like to be paid like one of the top quarterbacks in the league. “We’ve had great conversations. Obviously he’s confident. That’s the way he rolls.”

Schneider added that the team needs to do a better job of protecting Smith up front and talked about what he looks for in an offensive lineman.

“The person,” Schneider said. “Figuring out, what kind of competitor are we getting? Their level of intelligence in how they see the game, the quickness in which they see the game, especially with wide zone (run-blocking scheme). These guys gotta be able to adjust on the run, on the move. We’re running off the ball, and last year we were an offense that didn’t run off the ball. It’s the person and then the competitor and then with our new system, figuring out how they adjust. The pass protection stuff, that never really changes.”

Even though the Seahawks need a talent infusion up front, Schneider said the team wouldn’t reach in order to fill a need.

“We’ve made our biggest mistakes when we’ve pushed players up a board for need or rob from Peter to pay Paul for offensive linemen,” Schneider said. “You have to be careful. The philosophy is you take the best player, take the best person, best competitor.”