Offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore and wide receiver DeAndre Smelter will begin practicing for the 49ers this week, head coach Jim Tomsula confirmed today (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). Once they begin practicing, the Niners will have a three-week window to decide whether or not to activate Kilgore from the PUP list and Smelter from the NFI list.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Asked whether Washington has engaged in contract talks with quarterback Kirk Cousins, whose current deal expires at year’s end, head coach Jay Gruden said that the team will “keep that in-house for now,” tweets Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post. Gruden added that the team would love to retain Cousins, but said “that’s up to [GM] Scot [McCloughan], Kirk’s agent and Kirk” (link via John Keim of ESPN.com).
- Despite suffering a significant injury that required neck surgery, Seahawks wide receiver and special-teamer Ricardo Lockette expects to play next season, writes Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times. At the time of the injury, there was concern that Lockette’s career could be over, but he has high expectations for himself, telling Jenks he aims to be a Pro Bowler in 2016.
- After shaking up their offensive coaching staff last month, the Lions are hiring Arizona State senior offensive analyst Ryan Silverfield as an assistant offensive line coach, a league source tells Thayer Evans of SI.com. Detroit parted ways with a pair of offensive line coaches when the team fired former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, and didn’t replace both assistants immediately.
- Following the team’s seventh straight loss, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) takes a look at an increasingly tense Cowboys locker room, with a focus on Dez Bryant and Greg Hardy.
Suddenly, extension talks for Cousins looks like a solid option, given the difficulties procuring quarterbacks and their open disdain for RG3. Moderate ceiling at best, but that’s the boat in which many teams reside.