49ers
The 49ers signed All-Pro LB Fred Warner to a three-year, $63 million extension this offseason to keep him with the team through 2029. Following seven years with San Francisco, Warner expressed his gratitude towards the organization for being able to grow into a franchise cornerstone alongside QB Brock Purdy and TE George Kittle.
“I’m so grateful to everyone involved including the whole York family, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan,” Warner said, via Lindsey Pallares of the team’s website. “It was pretty seamless, and I’m happy for George Kittle and Brock Purdy to get their stuff done too.”
“It honestly does mean the world. I said it when I signed my deal during some of the media stuff I was doing. When I got drafted here in 2018, it was truly a dream come true. It was the exact spot I wanted to be at because I knew they had a vision for me as a younger player who had never even played stack, off-the-ball linebacker. I was so raw at the time.”
Cardinals
Cardinals OT Jonah Williams and first-round DT Walter Nolen have missed time at OTAs. When asked about both players, HC Jonathan Gannon responded that he doesn’t like talking about injuries.
“There are not a lot of good answers all the time for (the media) from me,” Gannon said, via Darren Urban of the team’s site. “‘He’s doing great.’ What does that mean? He was doing great two days ago but then yesterday didn’t have a setback — I don’t want to use that word — but it’s not linear, it doesn’t just go great in a rehab. If you remember the first time we got here, the hot topic was Kyler (Murray) coming back from a knee. I’ve been around guys that have knees. Here’s the timetable, here’s what he has to do for his position, all that. It’s not a linear progression of ‘I’m just doing great and I’m on the timeline the doc says and the training room says and this is when I can go out and play football.’ It doesn’t work like that.”
In the end, Gannon trusts their process on keeping players healthy.
“I trust our process on how we do things. You’ll see Jonah out there today, but that’s just the step we’re taking for return to play. Everybody is different. What you guys see on the practice field, ‘Oh maybe he’s getting closer’ and he might not even be closer than a guy you don’t even see out there. That’s truthful.”
Gannon added that Williams and Nolan are “doing everything they can” to be available.
“So they are doing everything they can to get out there and be healthy and be with their teammates and play football,” Gannon said. “I never question that. And they know from our standpoint we’re not going to put them out there until they are ready to go 100 percent physically.”
Rams
The Rams signed CB Emmanuel Forbes late last season after he was released by the Commanders. Two years removed from being the 16th-overall pick, Forbes talked about his increased strength helping him play faster without overthinking.
“I feel way stronger, way more explosive and it really has helped my game out a lot,” Forbes said, via Wyatt Miller of the team’s website. “They let me play my game, like, throughout the defense. So, honestly, not worried about messing up in my head and just going out there and playing freely. So, it’s helped me be great.”
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