NFC Notes: Matthew Stafford, Trey Lance, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers GM John Lynch mentioned that none of the early offers the team received for QB Trey Lance included a fourth-round pick, adding the Cowboys swooped in and made them an offer they couldn’t pass up.

“It wasn’t anywhere close,” Lynch said, via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.“The Cowboys came up big. And I think that’s an indication that they’re excited to have him. And we’re excited for Trey’s new opportunity.”

Rams

Rams QB Matthew Stafford has had difficulty connecting with his younger teammates according to his wife Kelly.

“It’s kind of crazy. So, Matthew’s been in the league a long time,” Kelly Stafford said on her podcast. “He’s like, ‘The difference in the locker room has changed so significantly.’ They have a lot of rookies on their team, they’re very young. But he’s like, ‘I feel like I can’t connect.'”

“They say ‘sir’ to him and s—,” Stafford continued. “He’s like, ‘No, we’re on the same level here, we’re both playing in the league. Let me get to know you.’ He said it’s so different and so hard to get to know these guys. He had a book printed out. He had the equipment guy get a book printed of all their faces, and all their names, ’cause he’s like, ‘I need to know their names.’ We need to talk, so I’m gonna find their names and I’m gonna say, ‘Hey so-and-so, how was your weekend?’ So, they know I know them and maybe we should get to know each other so there’s chemistry on the field.’ But I think nowadays, it’s really hard to develop that because all these young kids, they don’t care. Or it’s not that they don’t care, but they’re so used to going straight to their phones instead of having some fun with some guys in the locker room. It’s different. It’s kind of sad. I think Matthew feels it the most because he’s so old and like a leader on the team. But he’s like, ‘I don’t know how to lead people I have no connection with. I have to somehow find a way to connect with them.'”

• NBC Sports’ Peter King mentions he has heard Rams DT Aaron Donald doesn’t have a burning desire to finish his career in Pittsburgh and wouldn’t necessarily lobby for a trade to the Steelers.

Seahawks

After a one-year stint in Los Angeles with the Rams, LB Bobby Wagner is back with the Seahawks which just feels natural. Wagner was a part of the original Seahawks Legion of Boom defense in the 2010s, and part of the reason he’s excited to return to Seattle is to help pass the torch to the next generation of talented defenders. 

“When I played against the Seahawks last year,” Wagner said via NBC Sports’ Peter King, “they had all these new guys. They’re talking trash. I’m telling them, like, ‘I had that jersey before you guys were even born. Don’t tell me what the Seahawks mean! I created what the Seahawks mean to you guys.’”

At 33, Wagner thinks he has another year or two after this one to continue playing before he dives into the next phase. He’s been representing himself as his own agent in preparation for that. 

“It’s about football, but it’s about life after football,” he said. “Like, I want to be able to negotiate deals that don’t have anything to do with football. The energy I get from business people is the knock on athletes is they don’t have the experience. So I’m trying to eliminate that stereotype that we don’t have that experience that I’ve been doing it for a while now. That’s one thing they can’t say about me … It’s a great story. It’s not finished. I’m excited to get out there and continue to prove that I can play at a high level.”