NFC Rumors: Marquise Brown, Sam Darnold, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in QB Sam Darnold if he’s forced to play this weekend.

“I mean, Sam has done a lot of good things since he’s been here,” Shanahan said, via PFT. “He looks great on the practice field. Got to play with him in a couple of preseason games. But when you go into an NFL game with someone for the first time, there’s always some newness to both of us. Just feeling it out, feeling with the team. But Sam’s played a lot of football, and when he gets out here, he’s got such command, got a ton of confidence.”

Shanahan added that Darnold has also earned the confidence of his teammates.

“They’re amazed with how good he is throwing the football and stuff, some of the throws he makes on scout team, what he did throughout training camp,” Shanahan said. “And if his opportunity with us for the first time is this Sunday, he’ll be ready to go, and our guys will be excited to follow him.”

Cardinals

• Albert Breer reports that the Cardinals haven’t been very active in trade discussions up to this point.
• Cardinals WR Marquise Brown has garnered some trade interest, according to Breer, and could be someone worth watching leading up to the deadline.
• While S Budda Baker and OT D.J. Humphries could net the Cardinals some trade value, Breer says there’s really no urgency from Arizona to trade either player.

Rams

Rams OC Mike LaFleur said OL Kevin Dotson has made a seamless transition to the team.

“Yeah, he’s a pro’s pro too. He came from a really good organization with how they do things in Pittsburgh, obviously,” LaFleur said, via Rams Wire. “He’s a son of a coach. It’s been a smooth transition. Unlike Myles (Gaskin) where he came from a similar system, Pittsburgh runs a very different system than us from every aspect: protection, run game, and all that. So that was a learning curve for him hearing our terminology for the first time but every week just getting a little bit more comfortable with that and with comfort comes better execution.”

• Rams HC Sean McVay said RT Rob Havenstein tweaked his calf and is currently listed as questionable for Week 8, via Sarah Barshop.