NFC Notes: Brock Purdy, Matthew Stafford, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks

49ers

49ers QB Brock Purdy has exceeded all expectations after being the final player drafted back in 2022. Despite being in line for a massive pay raise, Purdy remains focused on the task at hand. 

“I’m trying to win this year and do everything I can for this organization this year,” Purdy said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone. “Everything else happens how it happens. But for me, I need to get better from last year, on the film, and the things that I saw from last year. My rookie year, it’s like I’ve got this thing in me where I want to continue to master my craft, and that’s that.”

“It’s a business, obviously, too. But for me, I love this game. I love just competing with these guys in this organization. I love this organization, and I want to continue to represent myself for them, and in the right way. So that’s where I’m at with that. Getting too caught up in all that kind of stuff is, for me, that’s nonsense. So, just taking it one day at a time and getting better.”

• ESPN’s Nick Wagoner writes it seems like the 49ers are preparing to be without either WR Brandon Aiyuk or WR Deebo Samuel in 2025, perhaps even both. 
• 49ers GM John Lynch on the potential trades of Aiyuk and Samuel: “We didn’t entertain any of that today. We’re happy with our wide receiver group. Actually, more than happy. We’re thrilled with it. And thrilled to add Ricky to it to make it stronger.” (Cam Inman)

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay attempted to avoid answering questions about a potential contract extension with QB Matthew Stafford following the draft and was asked if the veteran would be attending OTAs.

“Yeah, I’ve had good dialogue with Matthew,” McVay said, via Pro Football Talk. “We’ll keep those things in house, but he’s been working with our guys and we’ll keep those things in house. He’s been working with our guys the last couple weeks. And so that’s kind of where we’re at with that….We’re definitely jacked to have Matthew as our QB.”

“We’re going to take it a day at a time,” McVay added. “We’ll see. So we’re going to try to figure it out. There’s nothing that’s more important than making sure that he feels appreciated and he knows how much we love him and want him to lead the way. I think that commitment that I think he wants to have can be reciprocated and we want to work towards figuring that out. On a positive note, I’ll say this. You get [Blake] Corum and you get [Kamren] Kinchens. For us to be able to come away with four players who we have a consistent appreciation for. If you told us that these were the four guys that we’d be able to come away with after the first two nights of the draft, their makeup is unbelievable in terms of the intangibles, the mental toughness. These guys all have a physicality to their game. They’re mature men and that’s the kind of guys that we wanted to be able to bring in. It’s such a credit to [G.M.] Les [Snead, his group, the amount of work that they’ve done and then working in combination with our coaching staff. There has been unanimous excitement for all four of those picks and tomorrow will represent an opportunity for us to improve as well.”

Seahawks

The Seahawks took fourth-round LB Tyrice Knight well ahead of consensus, and it seems like it was largely done on the recommendation of new HC Mike Macdonald. Seahawks GM John Schneider called Macdonald the “linebacker guru” and Macdonald raved about how Knight’s instincts were shown on tape. 

“The first thing that pops out on the tape is he sees the game quickly,” Macdonald said via the Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar. “He stays square. I think he brings some thump at the point of attack. … Linebackers are paid to make tackles. He makes a lot of tackles, so that’s a good thing.”

Knight was critiqued by some scouting reports for not being comfortable in coverage. Macdonald acknowledged that part of his game will be a work in progress. 

“You got to be able to go through us and not around us, so we’re going to ask our inside ‘backers to play anything from out of the backfield,” Macdonald said. “We’ll see how well he does that. But I think staying square and being able to play the middle of defense is important. You’ve got to be in a position to break and handle checkdowns and press into routes and live in worlds that we’re going to live in. He hasn’t done all the things we’re going to ask him to do schematically, but nobody ever does (in college), so you’re looking at how he moves and how he thinks and try to project it the best you can.”