There was plenty of exciting news that came out last week from the four teams in the NFC West, and in this article, we will compile it all in one area, so you are not missing out on anything.
Arizona Cardinals
There wasn’t much news out of the Cardinals camp this past week as most of the news seemed to discuss the Cardinals player ratings on the NFL Top 100 list. It blows me away how Kyler Murray ranked number 90 on the list, with multiple rookies above him even though he won Offensive Rookie of the Year. I think the league is in for a rude awakening in 2020 with Kyler being more comfortable in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
The only real notable news is that the Cardinals cut 10 players to get them down to the 80 man roster size. the following players were cut from the team: OLB Vontarrious Dora, QB Drew Anderson, DE T.J. Carter, OL Jackson Dennis, OL Drew Dickinson, TE Parker Houston, WR Shane Leatherbury, WR Devin Phelps, CB Jarren Williams, CB Bejour Wilson.
LA Rams
Like the Cardinals, the Rams didn’t have to much going on this past week either, but they did cut 4 players, Defensive Linemen Sam Renner and Greg Reaves, Linebacker Daniel Bituli, and Running Back James Gilbert. The roster size deadline is actually on August 16th, however they cut the 4 players to get down to the mandatory 80-man roster size heading into training camp.
San Francisco 49ers
Three weeks ago I wrote about how I didn’t think the 49ers shouldn’t pay Raheem Mostert, however clearly their front office thought otherwise as on Monday July 27th they adjusted his contract to give him extra incentives and a $250,000 signing bonus as reported by Ian Rapoport, who got his news from Mostert’s agent Brett Tessler. NFL Network’s Tom Pelisser also reported that Mostert could over $5 Million in 2020 if he hits all of his incentive goals. I think this adjustment is a great way to settle the conflict between the player and the organization as the player is getting his worth, but the team isn’t taking as big of a risk as they didn’t add extra years to his contract.
On the 28th, GM John Lynch also came out and said top Receiver Deebo Samuel might not be ready for the start of the 2020 season as he is still recovering from a broken foot that happened in week 10 of last season.
The 49ers came out with big news three days in a row as on the 29th they announced they have agreed to terms on a multiyear extension with GM John Lynch. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the news but no details on the contract have been released yet.
On the 31st it was reported by NFL Network’s Mike Silver, that the contract discussions between George Kittle and the 49ers isn’t going well. Silver said they 49ers are ready to reset the Tight End market with this signing, apparently Kittle believes his contract should not be valued as just a Tight End due to his multiple roles on the team. Kittle said “I don’t want to be called a tight end for the purposes of these negotiations” which is fair as he is one of the biggest stars in the NFL right now.
And the final news I have for the 49ers, which actually came out yesterday, so I am cheating a bit on this week in review, but they signed Tight End Jordan Reed a former Kyle Shanahan weapon from Washington. There is no question that Jordan Reed has the talent to be a top 5 Tight End in the league, however he has had lot of injury problems over his career which has kept him off the field. If he can manage to stay healthy him and George Kittle could be an amazing Tight End pairing, like the 49ers had with Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker or the Pats had with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
Seattle Seahawks
Obviously, the biggest news across the entire league broke last weekend on July 25th as the Seattle Seahawks traded for star Safety Jamal Adams. The Seahawks sent a 2021 first round pick, 2021 third round pick, a 2022 first round pick and starting safety Bradley McDougald to the Jets. In return the Jets sent Adams and a 2022 fourth round pick. In my opinion the Jets won this trade, as I think the Seahawks gave up way to many picks towards their future to get a guy who doesn’t even address their biggest needs, however with that being said, the Seahawks finally get a replacement for Kam Chancellor, who played a huge part during the Legion of Boom days in Pete Carrol’s scheme. This trade comes not long after the Seahawks had bad breakup with franchise favorite Earl Thomas, who handle his displeasure over social media the same way Jamal Adams did. Adams says he wants to retire with the Seahawks but only time will tell if he runs into the same issues that Thomas did.
2020 off season trade acquisition Quinton Dunbar was placed on the commissioners exempt list. I am not going to get into the deep details, but Dunbar and Giants Cornerback Deandre Baker have several felony charges after an incident in Miami earlier this year.
The Seahawks were also able to agree to terms with first round pick Jordyn Brooks this past week. The contract is said to be a 4-year deal worth $12.35 Million that includes a $6.458 Million Bonus, according to Ian Rapoport.
