NFC Notes: Tyler Higbee, Geno Smith, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan is continuing to focus on getting the top seed in the playoffs rather than just clinching a spot.

“I’ll have a reaction when it is the No. 1 spot, if it is, because that’s when the season ends,” Shanahan said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “Right now, it doesn’t mean much. It just means where you’re at now. And I know we won’t be that if we don’t handle business this week. So that’s really all we’re worried about this week, and then we’ll move to who we play after that.”

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay told reporters that the team is hoping to get TE Tyler Higbee back this week.

“Hopefully we’ll get Tyler back this week. That’s the expectation. That’s the goal,” McVay said, via RamsWire.com. “Still have  Brycen Hopkins who has done a lot of good things for us as well. We’ll take it a day at a time. We’re kind of just now in the last couple hours just getting all this information and then you start to sort through your plans accordingly.”

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said QB Geno Smith is in a good place physically and he’s making a lot of progress each day.

“He had a good lift this morning, so we’ll see how each day goes, but one day at a time and we’ll figure that out,” Carroll said, via ESPN’s Brady Henderson. “I know it’s a big concern to everybody, but he feels really good. He threw the heck out of the ball in the morning session, so we’ll see what happens today with the [real] hope that he’s ready to go. And if not, Drew’s going to be there. We’ll mix reps to make sure that everybody’s prepared, but that’s a good sign for us and for Geno’s sake. He wants to play in the worst way.”

Smith didn’t appear to have limitations during the team’s walk through practice on Thursday.

“He did everything,” Carroll said. “He moved around just fine. It was a walk-through, so we’ll go to practice this afternoon and see how that goes and just take one session at a time. But he feels really good. He’s ready to go.”

Carroll also added that both RB Kenneth Walker and rookie RB Zach Charbonnet didn’t have limitations on Thursday.

“They looked great today getting started for the week,” Carroll said. “Both guys feel really good. There’s no issues with what they were dealing with the week before.“