NFC Notes: Kyler Murray, Cardinals, Aaron Donald, Rams, Seahawks

Cardinals

While many believe Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will stay put in Arizona, the removal of all Cardinals-related imagery on his social media is making his contract situation appear precarious. Some in the league think Arizona might also not be sold on the former No. 1 pick. 

“The worry with Kyler is whether he can hold up over the course of a 17-game season, as we saw this year,” one agent told Fansided’s Matt Lombardo. “This feels like Arizona’s going to be in a similar spot to the Browns with Baker Mayfield. I’m not so sure they wind up caving and giving him a long-term deal.”

Rams

Though there were rumors of Rams DL Aaron Donald contemplating retirement, he seems to put the narrative to bed, claiming that Los Angeles built a “super team,” and was easily convinced by HC Sean McVay to “run it back.”

“We built a super team. We can bring the super team back,” Donald said, via NFL.com. “Why not run it back? We can be world champs again.”

Rams OT Andrew Whitworth was a little more undecided on his future, but stated that he wasn’t going to take the time to discuss his future just yet.

“You know what, we’ll save that conversation for another day,” Whitworth said. “But what I will say, because I hadn’t touched on this yet: Five years ago, I was told I was a little too old. And I was told that maybe my time was done. And I’ll tell you this, for every single person standing out there that’s ever doubted anything you’ve ever done, bet on yourself, because five years later I’m holding this trophy up, and I’m 40 years old. Let’s go. Don’t let anybody’s opinions of you ever become your reality. Bet on yourself. World damn champions.”

Rams WR Cooper Kupp honored the late Kobe Bryant, and also said that he was looking forward to running it back with the team.

“I’m standing here in this city that knows nothing but championships,” Kupp said. “We’re out here celebrating this championship. Kobe (Bryant is) a part of this. He belongs here. And I’ll tell you what: He set the standard. All I know, get back to work. Let’s run it back.”

Seahawks

Seahawks’ new DC Clint Hurtt said that his “ultimate goal” is to be a head coach in the NFL. 

“My ultimate goal is to become a head coach,” Hurtt said, via John Boyle of the team’s official site. “Obviously this is a step in the right direction to go onto that ultimate goal. So I’m really, really excited about that.”

Hurtt mentioned that he has “really embraced” the 3-4 system

“The 3-4 system is something that I’ve really embraced, obviously Vic Fangio being a big influence on that,” Hurtt said. “So with that being said, there are going to be some element of that — I would say we’re going to be multiple. One thing that is going to be significantly different this year, we are going to be aggressive. We want that. The aggressiveness is going to have to come from our guys up front getting after the passer, continuing on being strong in the run game like we have been in last few years. That’s the mentality of a defense that we want to have, and our players respond to that mentality. Obviously, that comes down to one, how you coach it, and two, how you call it. So the aggressiveness and attacking offenses, but at the same time challenging the quarterback and making it hard on him not just with a rush but also with coverage. That’s where we’re going to be and that’s what we want to make big improvements.”

Hurtt added that the Seahawks can be expected to blitz more often than they did in 2021. 

“Will we blitz more that we did last year? My answer to that would be yes. Would it be an inordinate amount, something crazy? No, it’s not going to be that,” Hurtt said. “A lot of that is in the mentality in which you play. You don’t want to be soft, you want to be aggressive in how you play coverage. It can be a four-man rush and dropping seven, there’s a mentality that comes along with it and also the types of coverages you’re playing — not being so zone-y, being more aggressive with things, whether it’s in zone or man coverages, things of that nature.”