NFC Notes: Kyler Murray, Cardinals, Rams, Bobby Wagner, Seahawks, Geno Smith, Drew Lock

“It’s one of those things you can’t account for and if you miss any time during the season (because of it), there’s an adjustment in coming back,” Humphries said. “Let alone if you miss time with a respiratory injury and then play 80-plus snaps every game. But I was brought into ‘If you’re on that field, you can go.’ Nobody cares about you having Covid. Having that mentality helped me get through it, but I won’t act like it’s easy.”

Humphries reiterated that he wants to play his whole career in Arizona.

“My plan was to play here my whole career,” Humphries said. “If something happens outside of the plan, you live with how it comes. But the plan is the plan. We’re going to set out to do it a certain way.”

Rams

Rams LB Ernest Jones was all for the team signing LB Bobby Wagner in free agency.

“When he came for the visit (pre-signing), I got a call, and I was like: ‘Let’s get him. Let’s do what we gotta do and get him here to help us win it again,’” Jones said, via Rams Wire.

Jones has taken full advantage of learning from one of the best linebackers in football and has enjoyed every minute of learning from Wagner.

“Him being in the room every day and just watching him, it’s been amazing. It’s been the highlight of my career so far,” Jones added. “(I’m) learning from someone who has done everything that I aspire to do: Pro Bowls, All-Pros, Super Bowls. He’s everything that I want to (be) and more.”

Seahawks

Seahawks QB Geno Smith said he’s getting along well with Drew Lock and the fellow quarterback has a strong presence in the locker room. 

“Drew’s cool as heck man. I love Drew to death. Just getting a chance to know him, he’s got a lot of swag, he’s a young guy, he can throw it, he’s got all the ability in the world. He’s very smart, and just one of the guys. He’s one of the guys, he’s got a great feel for the locker room, guys love him, love talking to him. You see him rapping Jeezy and all that cool stuff, so he’s just one of the guys, man, I really like Drew,” said Smith, via John Boyle of the team’s official site. 

Lock added that he’s splitting time with Smith in practice and they are working well together. 

“We both understand that we’re both trying to be the starter for this team. We’re not stepping on each other’s shoes, we’re not getting mad at one another. It’s just, ‘All right, he took it that day, I took it this day. I broke us down this time, he broke us down this time.’ They need to hear both of us, they need to feel both of us. It’s been really nice, it’s been really easy. I appreciate the way Geno has handled it, and I hope he appreciates the way I’ve handled it as well.”

Lock compared this offseason with the Seahawks to when he was competing against Teddy Bridgewater for the Broncos’ starting role. 

“I tried to compare the whole time,” Lock said. “‘Did Teddy beat me that day? Did I win that day?’ Overall, if you start thinking like that, it’s just not good for your mental. It’s not good for your process of becoming a better quarterback. It’s not about who won that day; it’s about, did I get better today to make the guys around me better? Because if I’m playing my best, the other 10 dudes around me are going to be playing really good football too. So just not comparing. Comparison is the thief of joy is what Barry Odom told me one day when I was in college and that’s kind of stuck with me.”

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll that their change in the quarterback room “was much needed.” 

“From fresh faces in the quarterback room to the offensive coordinator, from, ‘who’s my center?’ just meeting new people—whether that’s the training room, or the equipment staff, it was just needed,” Carroll said. “It was time… Just from an all-around perspective, it was much needed and it feels really, really good to be here.”

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes its notable Lock has not yet passed Smith this spring, as Smith is a known quantity at this point in his career.