NFC Notes: John Lynch, Sean McVay, Monti Ossenfort, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

• 49ers GM John Lynch talked about WR Brandon Aiyuk in light of his future with the team being in question: “One of my favorite guys around the building. … Brandon’s a guy we want to keep around for a long time.” (Matt Barrows)
• Tariq Ahmad and R.J. Gillen will see larger roles in 2024, and Lynch stated both will have the title Director of Player Personnel. (Barrows)
• Lynch said they would like to re-sign restricted free agent WR Jauan Jennings to a long-term deal but are open to “all options” to keep him around. (49ersWire)
• Auburn CB D.J. James had a formal Combine interview with the 49ers. (Justin Melo)

Cardinals

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort spoke on the improvement he expects to see in his second year on the job. He also talked about the serenity that comes with the trip to Indy and the offseason as a whole.

“Where the jump comes is everyone has a little bit better idea of their processes coming their way,” Ossenfort said, via team writer Darren Urban. “Getting the coaches up to speed on free agency as well as myself getting up to speed on free agency, and keeping up with the college process, just from the time standpoint we haven’t had to spend as much time getting everything settled. Now it’s, while there is still a ton of work to do, the work is where it is supposed to be.”

“The second you start thinking ‘I’ve got this figured out’ that’s when issues hit,” Ossenfort added. “There is always more than enough work to do. It’s more of, ‘I know what’s coming down the chute next.'”

Rams

The Rams head into the offseason with around $40 million in cap space, which is the 12th-most in the NFL. A year ago, Los Angeles was in the opposite situation, as they were $14 million over the cap and trying to cut ends to create the money necessary to put a team together. HC Sean McVay was stunned by how much money they have to work with this year.

“It’s funny, I remember we sat with Sean and Les the first day of the offseason and Sean asked Tony, he goes, ‘How much money do I have?’ And Tony gave him a number, and Sean’s like, ‘Wow, that’s more than I’ve ever had in my career!’ By the end of that night, he’s like, ‘How do I get more money?’” Rams COO Kevin Demoff said, via ESPN LA. “In 2017, I think we had like $40 million in cap space and he’s like, ‘How much (do we have this year)?’ We have like $45 million, maybe low $50s depending on where the cap finishes. And he’s like, ‘Oh my god, that’s great! How much did I have last year?’ And we’re like, ‘Negative two.’”

“He’s feeling great. By the end he goes, ‘How do we get to like $50, $60, $70 million?’ We’re like, ‘You don’t.’ This guy got a payday loan and is out there buying a Bentley. Those of us that oversee the cap are like, ‘Can’t you just get a Toyota, a Ford? Maybe like a Range Rover?’ No, we’ve got a Bugatti and we need a second one because one isn’t enough.”