NFC Notes: Kyler Murray, 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

One of the secrets to 49ers QB Brock Purdy‘s success? Sleep. Purdy and a lot of the 49ers’ key players are religious about their sleep routines in order to put themselves in the best position to have success. Purdy starts his routine at 6 pm by putting on blue light blocking glasses to catch light from screens that can affect sleep rhythms. At eight or an hour before he wants to go to bed, he takes a hot shower and puts away his phone. 

“It’s been a night-and-day difference this year, I’d say,” he said via the Athletic’s Matt Barrows. “Starting from the recovery process from when I had surgery all the way up until now. I have energy. I’m attentive during meetings. It’s a real difference, I think.”

Purdy says he started this process when he was rehabbing his elbow injury from last year and credits his sleep schedule as a major factor in beating his return timeline by several weeks. 

“Going into surgery, the doctor was telling me the importance of sleep,” Purdy said. “My teammates, guys who had been through injuries like mine, were telling me, ‘Dude, sleep is going to be your best friend.’ And so I made it a priority. That was No. 1 on my list.”

Cardinals

Cardinals OC Drew Petzing doesn’t think Kyler Murray‘s efforts to perfect his footwork for their offensive system are having a negative impact on them. 

“Absolutely. Our success or lack thereof has had no impact – his feet have had little to no impact on that in my mind,” Petzing said, via Bob McManaman of AZ Central. 

In Petzing’s offense, Murray is required to start with his left foot up instead of his usual right foot, which he’s done throughout his career. The quarterback feels he’s coordinated enough to make the switch but admits it’s been awkward at times. 

“It was awkward,” Murray said. “For me, I’d been doing that for 15-plus years, right foot up. Now having to switch, luckily, I’m coordinated enough to get it down. It’s still kind of a mind trick in my head with the feet and the drops that I’ve been doing my whole life and having to time them up now to what they’re wanting. But it’s been good so far.”

Petzing said they showed Murray examples of why they want him to take snaps with his left foot up while he was still rehabbing. 

“When we first got here and he was going through his rehab, it’s something like, ‘Hey, this is how we do it. We’re going to show you examples of why. We’re going to show what we’re looking for,’ and it’s something he can do on his own when he hits the field.”

• Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said “nothing has changed” with TE Zach Ertz (quad) and his status on injured reserve, via Darren Urban.

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said the team has a big opportunity in front of them with a pair of divisional games on the slate and seemingly in a spot to earn a playoff bid.

“This is an enormous opportunity for us,” Carroll said, via PFT. “Now, look at the schedule; I know what’s coming. Every one of those games are enormous opportunities for us to figure in, in our division and still battle for all of that, that’s there. The NFC games, huge. Because it’s a Thursday-to-Thursday, and what happened last Thursday, it’s a big opportunity right here. I don’t want to miss this.”

• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport doesn’t expect Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker (oblique) to be available for Thursday’s game givenCarroll has been upfront about Walker’s recovery.