NFC Notes: Sam Darnold, Kyler Murray, 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

Part of the reason 49ers QB Sam Darnold signed with San Francisco was due to location.

“It’s nice to be on the West Coast again, I can’t lie, by my family,” Darnold said, via 49ersWebZone. “It’s like a 45-minute flight down to Orange County, so that’s really nice for my parents to be able to come on up for games super easily.”

Darnold added that the team’s culture and the respect of the organization were also big factors in his decision.

“And then, obviously, the organization, man, this past year was my first time hitting free agency,” Darnold explained. “So kind of the first time I had a choice, really, and to be able to just see what their organization is like, that offense is like. And just the culture that’s set in that locker room by great dudes and guys that—obviously, it’s a profession, it’s a business, and they take it very serious. But at the same time, I feel like they do a great job of kind of having fun, but also mixing that with being able to lock in on the field and do your work when you need to do it.”

Darnold also said that the team’s offensive system was conducive to making life easier on a quarterback and the continuity was appealing to him.

“Guys are open. I mean, there’s a lot of guys open on dang near every play,” Darnold said. “It just seems like there’s a ton of answers (to why he chose the 49ers). Great run game. I mean, whenever you can have a great run game as a quarterback, that’s always a comforting feeling. And I think, just with the certain weapons that they have, Deebo, Aiyuk, George, obviously,  Christian, Kyle, Jauan Jennings. There’s so many guys. You can go on and on. But they’ve been there for so long, and Kyle’s been able to understand what everyone does well, what they don’t do well. And I feel like every game plan, he uses and gets the most out of his guys, and that’s a very good feeling as a quarterback, knowing that the coordinator is going to put everyone in the best position possible.”

Cardinals

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is excited about the accountability that GM Monti Ossenfort and HC Jonathan Gannon are bringing to the organization.

“As far as the chip on my shoulder and what type of energy I’m coming in with this season, I feel free in a sense, especially with the change upstairs and the organization,” Murray said, via Arizonasports.com. “I feel like they’ve done a great job since they came in. Holding people accountable, the leadership…The way we’re going, I feel like personally, the sky’s the limit. It’s pretty different for me, but it’s been seamless,” the QB added. “Me and (Jonathan Gannon) hit it off. He sees things the way I see things. He can relate to the guys and he genuinely feels like he believes in the guys and trying to get them better, me better. I feel like you’ll run through a wall for that type of guy and that’s the type of energy that he brings.”

Murray recalled the events that happened after he tore his ACL last year.

“I never felt that before. I was just on my back looking up and it was like everybody was…hazed out. I was crying once we were carted off the field and then it all kind of hit me. I’m one of those people that believes everything happens for a reason. But I did not know (the ACL tore).”

Murray was tested mentally during his rehabilitation process to get him back to this point.

“Nobody can really prepare you for how that (expletive) is going to feel. After the injury happened, I ‘prehabbed’ for two weeks or whatever and that wasn’t that bad. After the surgery, that first two weeks was terrible. Moving was tough. You’re just kind of helpless.”

Seahawks

Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen shared that his surgically-repaired knee has been progressing well this offseason.

“The knee is getting right,” Woolen said, via PFT.