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

49ers

49ers GM John Lynch said the team is hopeful DL Arik Armstead can return in time for the playoffs.

“That’s our hope,” Lynch said, via PFT. “The one seed, when you talk about what it means, it means some extra time for a guy like Arik, who’s been working through some foot and knee injuries and making a great deal of progress. But this just gives him a little extra time. And it’s been killing Arik. He wants to be out there for his team, but this extra time just allows him more opportunity to heal up, and Arik’s a big part of what we do. So he’s working hard. We expect to have him for the playoffs. We hope to. I don’t know about ‘expect to’ because you always have to hit these markers, and we’ll turn up the intensity of his training as we get closer. And he’s doing real well.”

Cardinals

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray said he had an instant connection to HC Jonathan Gannon after he was hired in February of last year. 

“From that day on, it was like, I won’t say when you meet your best friend but that type of … it was instant,” Murray said, via Darren Urban of the team’s site. “We kind of speak the same language.”

Gannon said he does not doubt Murray being his starting quarterback going forward. 

“I’ve been convicted since I got here,” Gannon said. “What the guy has done for us, the player that he is, the person that he is, the competitor that he is. I kind of chuckled (on the radio). That’s been my view since I got here.”

Gannon wants Murray to be “an extension of me out there” and praised the quarterback’s drive to win games. 

“Where I think my relationship is different is I want him to be an extension of me out there,” Gannon said. “That’s what we talk about. What does that look like? What does that look like on the field and we score? What does that look like when we take a sack on third down? What does that look like when you’re on the sideline? What does that look like in practice? It comes from a love and respect for the player. That’s how I approach it with him because I do – I love the guy and I respect the guy. I know the competitor that he is. I don’t know if there is a person in this building that has the will to win like me – that’s not hubris because I expect myself to have that will – he has that will.”

• Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon announced they’ve ruled out DL Dante Stills (knee) and CB Garrett Williams (ankle) from Week 18, via Darren Urban. 

Seahawks

Seahawks’ veteran LB Bobby Wagner said he is completely committed to continuing his NFL career in 2024. 

“One hundred percent,” Wagner said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “There’s no might. I never thought anything else outside of that.”

Wagner, who is playing out a one-year deal with Seattle, said he hasn’t thought about whether he’ll continue playing for the organization past this season. 

“I didn’t think too far,” Wagner said. “I just was trying to be present in the moment that I had and trying to make the most out of that and let the cards fall where they may.”

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll praised Wagner’s leadership and his continued ability to make plays as a veteran. 

“He’s had a fantastic season coming back to us,” Carroll said. “His leadership and the example that he sets for other guys. He doesn’t have to say much; he just does everything well and right and the fact that he’s had a productive year and is making his plays and making a ton of tackles again, and his durability again, which is just so remarkable throughout his career, is just a statement of is overall conditioning and development and maintenance, all that it takes to do that. That’s incredible he’s played this much. One hundred and sixty-something tackles, that’s amazing. He’s done everything we could have hoped for, I think.”