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

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan seems to be ready to hand the keys over to QB Trey Lance in his second season, with former San Francisco quarterbacks Steve Young and Alex Smith voicing their support for Lance.

“That’s why we looked into trading Jimmy because we obviously believe that Trey can be a starter and we’re ready to do that,” Shanahan said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN. “We brought Trey here to be that eventually, and I think that will be sooner than later.”

“I think that he’s awesomely raw,” Young said of Lance. “And an emphasis on both of the words. … That’s what hit me was how little he’s played. He’s not starting from zero but if he’s at a 2 and he’s going to get to a 10, we will watch all of that. We’re going to participate in that. He’s going to grow from very raw and awesomely raw talent and we’re going to watch it get shined up. I think that process has started.”

“I loved the progression,” Smith said. “To see the progression from his first start where I really felt like he wasn’t going through his progressions, relying too much on his feet, really trying to force things, and then the second game, over the course of that game to watch him settle into the pocket and not trying to do too much. I remember being a young player and really trying to force things and what a bad place that is to get to that. When you can just think of yourself as the facilitator of the offense, especially with a play-caller like Kyle, who is going to dial it up for you from time to time and just let those big plays come to you. I really feel like I saw that growth. I think this has been, hopefully, an invaluable experience for him as he starts his career.”

Lance believes he learned a lot during his rookie season and LT Trent Williams even called him a generational talent.

“I learned a lot on the scout team,” Lance said. “Being able to play as and emulate different guys and playing styles that aren’t necessarily my own. I think I gained a lot from it. … I think I developed as a player.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that he is a generational talent,” Williams said. “And now it’s just putting that talent with the work ethic and making it come together on Sundays.”

Rams

• NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport says the Ravens offered LB Bobby Wagner $18 million over two years but he wanted to stay in Los Angeles and chose the Rams’ deal, which also included higher incentives. 
• Baltimore’s offer was reportedly fully guaranteed at signing, per PFT.
• Wagner said as soon as he was released from Seattle, DT Aaron Donald and CB Jalen Ramsey immediately texted him recruiting him to Los Angeles. (Jourdan Rodrigue)
• Rams GM Les Snead said prioritizing players that he covets is more important than trying to select them when league consensus feels they’re draftable: “If you really like a player…and you’re going to really, really lose sleep and toss and turn, right, over losing that player, go ahead and pick that player.” (Gary Klein)

Seahawks

Rams LB Bobby Wagner said he wished that the Seahawks had better communication with him before releasing him. Wagner had learned about the team’s plans to let him walk, and even though HC Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider apologized to him, he wished it was handled differently.

“First thing, I think after 10 years, I think it’s just simple communication. I don’t think it had to be that difficult,” Wagner said, via PFT. “I watched their interview, and I’m grateful, but when they said it was because I represented myself, I feel like that was weak. I don’t feel like me representing myself, whether I had an agent or whether I didn’t have an agent, I still felt like that was a conversation that they could have had. That’s where I stand with it. I’m not going to dwell on it. It’s changed. They’ve already moved on. I’ve already moved on, so it is what it is at this point. I just think that, after 10 years, it could have been a simple conversation. Even if they wanted to go in different directions, I don’t think me representing myself played any part on my end. It was more on their end. Maybe they didn’t want to do it. Maybe they wanted to kind of burn that bridge. But I feel like through this process and the last process, I’ve shown the capability of handling tough conversations we’ve had, tough conversations throughout my tenure there. So it was easy to just pick up a phone and call. I shouldn’t have had to find out the way I found out. But it is what it is, and I ended up in a great place.”

Wagner said the opportunity to play his former team twice a year wasn’t the reason he signed with the Rams but it’s a nice perk.

“A lot of people think that it went into my decision, being able to play the Seahawks,” Wagner said. “I don’t have that much hate in my heart. I really wanted to be happy, and I wanted to be close to home and stay on the West Coast. That was important to me. But playing the Seahawks twice a year was a cherry on top. I’ll make sure I’ll tell them. It won’t be a quiet game for me.”