49ers

49ers TE George Kittle is on the PUP list as he works back from a torn Achilles suffered in a postseason game in January. Kittle remains confident he can return for the team’s season opener, as the team and medical staff believe he has a chance.

“Very confident. Sooner than later,” Kittle said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “I’m just going to keep that as my goal, and then we’ll adjust from there if we need to. But I still believe that. My team still believes that. My surgeon still believes I have a chance. So, just keep attacking it.”

Ultimately, Kittle feels the next few weeks will determine his chances for Week 1, since he will need some padded practices before full clearance. 

“Like I’ve said, I have a chance [to play Week 1]. We’re running around a lot, hitting top speeds. Hopefully, we’re back in pads, practicing sooner than later. Just trying to check the boxes and not be a dumbass, is what I would say.”

• 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said Week 1 is “a long shot” for DE Mykel Williams due to a knee injury, but “he is progressing well.” (Vic Tafur)
• Shanahan also talked about DE Nick Bosa‘s progress in his return from ACL surgery: “He’s making a lot of progress. He’s got a lot less irritation, soreness, tendinitis, whatever you want to call it, than he had last week. He’s going the right direction and I see him similar to Christian.” (Nick Wagoner)
• Regarding Kittle’s return from a torn Achilles: “George isn’t a big ‘put a date on it’ and I’m not going to be that dude either. You guys can tell how he’s talking and how he looks, I agree that it’s sooner than later.” (Cam Inman)
• Shanahan also gave an update on WR Christian Kirk, who suffered a calf injury at camp’s first practice that he originally suffered in OTAs: “He’s been extremely frustrated with it. We love the guy but hopefully he can have some better luck so he get some reps out here.” (Inman)

Cardinals

Cardinals RB Jeremiyah Love did suffer an ankle injury, but HC Mike LaFleur said Love is okay, and it seems that despite missing the rest of the preseason, he will be ready for Week 1.

“He could have returned if we needed him to, so he’s fine,” LaFleur said, via Pro Football Talk. “But again, you never know. It’s one of those things that maybe tomorrow it’s a little more sore than the next, so we’ll take that day by day. Again, just talking to him in there, he was good and excited and happy to be out there playing.”

“Well, if you have a back that can run routes out of the backfield, you typically have favorable matchups,” LaFleur added on Love. “There’s obviously certain linebackers that are really good at covering guys. If you got a guy that you feel is pretty dynamic, that can obviously be a pretty big weapon for you.”

Seahawks

Seahawks QB Sam Darnold said he isn’t dwelling on the lack of success in past stops and is excited about another season moving forward in Seattle.

“A lot of people ask me,” Darnold said, via The Athletic, “like, ‘Come on, man. We’ve heard you say stuff about how you’re just taking it one day at a time, but you’ve got to have certain feelings about certain places you’ve been.’ But it doesn’t do me any good to have that mindset. Even if I did have certain thoughts about certain places, that doesn’t do me any good to air that out. Even for myself, when I’m home with my wife, I don’t like talking about things that happened three or four years ago. It’s just like, what are we doing? You know what I mean? That’s just holding onto something that has no meaning. I hold onto the lessons I learned during that time, but it’s just a waste of brain space to think about stuff like that.”

Darnold admitted that the past few years of his career have been tough, living out of apartments and not knowing where his next stop would be, but he is happy to have found his home in Seattle.

“That’s always the dream, right?” Darnold said. “But you just never know what’s going to happen. That’s why, for my entire career, I’ve treated everything — I would say one year at a time, but it’s really one day at a time. I don’t look past today. We’ve got to crush tonight’s meetings. And tonight, I’m going to look at tomorrow’s script and make sure I’m ready for tomorrow’s practice. I just do everything I can to be the best quarterback for this team as long as I’m the quarterback and just go from there.”

Darnold added that he’s comfortable in late-game and clutch-time situations and said that he’s rehearsed for those moments time and time again.

“I think I’ve always been comfortable in that situation, but I also think it’s about practicing the moment and visualizing it,” Darnold said. “It was like, all right, this is what we’re going to call. By that time last year, I knew exactly what our coordinator was going to call, and you know what routes we like for certain coverages, what I could check into against certain coverages. It’s just being glued into those situations, having done them so much in walk-throughs to where it’s like, OK, I know exactly what we’re doing. I think that’s where the comfort comes from.”

• Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald wouldn’t give a timeline for CB Terrion Arnold to join the team after signing. (Curtis Crabtree)