NFC West Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

For 49ers FB Kyle Juszczyck, “one of the most frustrating parts” of losing the Super Bowl has been the criticism heaped on his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. For better or worse, Garoppolo is remembered for not making the plays in the fourth quarter to put San Francisco over the top, including missing a deep throw to 49ers WR Emmanuel Sanders. Juszczyk points out that the rest of Garoppolo’s body of work, including the entire 2019 season and even the first three quarters of Super Bowl action, shouldn’t be ignored. 

“You look at Jimmy, for people that are stats guys, 4,000 yards passing, better than a 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 70 percent completion, you just look at that, that’s a phenomenal quarterback,” Juszczyk said in an interview on NFL Network. “Anybody’s going to sign up for that early in the season. But for whatever reason, Jimmy just seems to get this extra criticism, this extra heat. But I think at one point in the game, he’s like 19 for 22, 180 yards and a touchdown.”

• While NBC Sports’ Matt Maiocco doesn’t expect the 49ers to pick up DL Solomon Thomas‘ fifth-year option, he believes Thomas will stay in San Francisco and be given the chance to improve in 2020. 
• Maiocco points out the 49ers are in line to potentially receive a compensatory draft pick if Sanders leaves in free agency this offseason. 

Cardinals

The Saints’ success with QB Taysom Hill has had other teams looking to copy their success. That was part of why the Cardinals went to Canada to sign QB Chris Streveler on a futures deal. Streveler, a former wide receiver in college at Minnesota, established himself as one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the CFL the past two seasons. 

“He has to make the team first, but he is someone we followed,” Cardinals GM Steve Keim said via ArizonaSports.com’s Kevin Zimmerman. “He’s competitive, he’s fun to watch, he’s a gritty guy, he can really run, make plays with his feet.”

“It’ll be interesting to see him in this offense,” Keim added. “Maybe there is a little Taysom Hill, he brings different things to the table. But it’s all projection.”

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll says RB Rashaad Penny is making progress in his recovery from a season-ending ACL tear.

“He’s doing great,” Carroll said, via NBC Northwest. “He’s ahead of schedule already. They’re really excited about the progress that he’s making. That’s a much longer prognosis there. He’s got six or seven months ahead of him that are going to be really challenging. We’ll have to wait and see. He’s really determined, his attitude is great about it. He’s planning on making it back and getting ready to play. So, we’ll see how that goes.”