NFC West Notes: Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

Cardinals

New Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins says he’s looking forward to building a similar rapport with QB Kyler Murray as the one he had with Deshaun Watkins in Houston. 

“Going into this situation with a guy, a young quarterback, that I know is gonna be my quarterback for the future, is great,” Hopkins said, via ESPN.com. “We’re able to build a chemistry, and hopefully, I’m able to play more than three seasons with a quarterback. I don’t think I’ve done that yet. So, I’m excited just to see how I’ll be able to play with a consistent quarterback.”

Hopkins added that he thinks he’ll fit “very well” in Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury‘s offensive system. 

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Hopkins said. “Obviously I’ve played with a lot of quarterbacks and put up great numbers, being in offenses that necessarily weren’t a pass-first offense. So, myself, being a receiver, of course I see my stats going up.

“We have other great receivers out there — Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald and a lot of other guys out there — but I definitely see myself having one of my more productive seasons.”

Rams

• The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue and Rich Hammond analyze the Rams receiving corps, with WR Josh Reynolds projected to fill the deep-threat role vacated by WR Brandin Cooks if he can find some consistency. 
• Rodrigue adds Rams second-round WR Van Jefferson has the route-running ability and the attention to detail as a coach’s son to make an immediate impact. But he’s buried behind WRs Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp on the depth chart. 
• The two point out Jefferson has a skill set that’s somewhat interchangeable with Woods and Kupp, which could be relevant as Kupp and Reynolds enter the final year of their rookie contracts and Woods’ deal runs just through 2021. 

Seahawks

• Seahawks former first-round DE L.J. Collier told reporters on Friday that he never felt like he got back fully healthy last year, but was healthy enough to play. Collier added that he believes he pushed to get back possibly too quickly because he wanted to play. (Curtis Crabtree)
• Collier mentioned that he’s looking forward to showing everyone what he can do this year: “I’m excited to get back out there and show people who I am. … I’m out here to prove I’m one of the best. … I’m one hell of a football player and I’m going to show that this year.” (Curtis Crabtree)
• According to Collier, the Seahawks have told him that they expect to use him at both tackle and defensive end this year in a similar role to the one Michael Bennet played for them years ago. (Bob Condotta)
• Collier says he feels “very disrespected” after his disappointing rookie season: “I am champing at the bit to get out there. It’s one of those things where you don’t have the year everybody wants you to get so they just kind of shoot you off to the side as if you can’t play. It’s disrespectful and I feel very disrespected.” (Curtis Crabtree)
• Ian Rapoport reports that the Seahawks signed RB Carlos Hyde to a one-year contract that includes a base value of $2.75 million ($750,000 signing bonus, $1.5 million base salary, and $500,000 in per-game roster bonuses). Hyde can also reach $1.25 million in incentives, which brings the max value to $4 million.