Rams
Jacksonville ended up using a fourth-round pick on RB Bhayshul Tuten, just a few picks before the Rams grabbed Jarquez Hunter. Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic went on the NFL Daily Podcast and revealed Los Angeles was very high on Tuten, and Rams GM Les Snead wasn’t happy when his mentee James Gladstone took Tuten.
“Because James Gladstone, the GM for the Jaguars, man, he really p***** off his old boss and mentor, Les Snead, because that was a player the Rams had very, very high on their draft board, and James Gladstone also had him very, very high on their draft board,” Rodrigue said
Rams
Rams QB Matthew Stafford has returned to practice for a few weeks since aggravating a disk in his back. Los Angeles OC Mike LaFleur said Stafford looks like his usual self going into Week 1.
“He looks like Matthew Stafford to me,” LaFleur said, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “The coolest part is he’s just back out there with the guys doing stuff he loves, operating at a world-class level. If I didn’t know any better, he looks like Matthew Stafford. It’s been fun to have him back.”
Sean McVay thinks the time away from practice helped Stafford.
“There are some monotonous parts of the offseason program that are very necessary for a lot of guys, but I don’t think you pigeonhole yourself into a one-size-fits-all approach,” McVay said. “With Matthew, I think that served him well. You get some time with your family and beautiful little girls, more than you would otherwise. I think just to keep him feeling like, ‘Hey man, it’s fun, it’s engaging.’ He loves being out here practicing and competing and then does he need to hear some of our standard two-by-two formations at the beginning? No, he doesn’t need to be there for those kinds of things. Picking and choosing our spots — that was part of the plan.”
Stafford feels his approach this offseason made him even more energized to be at the team facility.
“That’s the point, right?” Stafford said. “The point is to not walk into the facility one day and be like, ‘Oh, here we go. It’s May something, and I’m here doing this.’ And I was like, every time I stepped in there I was like, ‘Man, let’s go. This is great. It’s great to see the guys, happy to be around them. Let’s go get some work done.’”
Seahawks
Seahawks QB Sam Darnold had a career renaissance following his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Darnold reflected on entering against the Ravens on Christmas night in 2023, completing eight of 14 passes for 81 yards, one touchdown, and an interception.
“That was like, ‘OK, I can do that,” Darnold said, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “I can lead this team if I needed to.”
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan thinks that Darnold fit into the Vikings at the perfect time, given Minnesota had a strong offense for him to build with.
“He got the keys to the team, and to be in that situation also when he had a good, upcoming team that had a lot of talent, that had a good coaching staff and it was kind of the perfect time for him and he was so ready for it,” Shanahan said. “That’s why I thought he had one of the better years in the league last year.”
Shanahan feels Darnold did well as their backup quarterback and approached things in the “right way.”
“When you’re that good of a quarterback, you rarely get a chance to just sit and soak things in,” Shanahan said. “And when you do, you kind of get more frustrated because you just want to be out there competing. And I know it was hard for him to do it, but he did it the right way and I think he just was so much more prepared for his next opportunity. And I thought that showed in Minnesota.”
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