HEADLINES

Patrick Peterson

NFC West Notes: Williams, 49ers, Cardinals

February 13th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rams introduced new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams at a press conference this morning, as Jonathan Webb of StLouisRams.com details. However, our afternoon NFC West roundup focuses on a pair of St. Louis’ division rivals. Here’s the latest:

  • As we heard last night, the 49ers and Anquan Boldin have mutual interest in working out a new deal, but that’s just one of the top items on the team’s offseason to-do list, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. According to Florio, San Francisco’s other top two priorities involving locking up head coach Jim Harbaugh and extending quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The Niners’ offseason plans figure to come into better focus after next week’s scouting combine, a source tells Florio.
  • Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee provides an update on the 49ers‘ new stadium, which is approximately 80% complete and on track to be ready for use by August.
  • General manager Steve Keim and the Cardinals are in the process of putting together a top 100 board for free agents, similar to the kind of board teams compile for the draft, writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Urban’s piece includes several interesting quotes from Keim on Arizona’s approach to roster building and the club’s long-term plan.
  • Keim on building the Cardinals‘ roster: “We have to constantly look at it with a three-year view. How certain things affect what we can do with Patrick [Peterson], how some of the other young players fit, and [that] we might have to make some tough decisions. Not this year, but we have talked about where we will have to make tough decisions after 2014 and 2015. If you look at the big picture and you look at it with a three-year view, you have a chance to sustain success instead of having so many peaks and valleys.”

NFC West Notes: Peterson, Seahawks, Rams

February 6th, 2014 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

A report from Pro Football Talk this week indicated that Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson hadn’t ruled out the possibility of a holdout, but Peterson’s comments themselves were more innocuous than the headline suggested. Asked about the possibility of holding out, Peterson said that he and his agent have yet to discuss his contract situation and added, “I can’t speak on that right now.”

The NFL’s new rookie pay scale reduced the leverage of players like Peterson when they become extension-eligible, making a new deal less likely during the coming offseason. But even without a long-term extension, Peterson isn’t likely to hold out, opines ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss. Noting that Peterson dislikes bye weeks because they mean a few days away from football, Weinfuss expresses skepticism that the young All-Pro would willingly sit out OTAs and minicamps, let alone any actual games.

Here’s more from around the NFC West:

  • Coming off a Super Bowl win, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll doesn’t think his roster requires any significant additions, as Tim Booth of The Associated Press writes. “I don’t see anything that we need to add,” Carroll said. “We just have to get better.”
  • There’s a good chance the Seahawks cut players like Sidney Rice, Zach Miller, and Chris Clemons this offseason to create cap space to retain more important roster pieces, according to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. However, as Corry outlines, given all the players who will require new deals within the next couple years, Seattle could lose plenty of veteran talent during that period, especially since teams have a tendency to overpay players on Super Bowl teams.
  • While there’s nothing wrong with adding reinforcements in free agency, the Rams should be building through the draft rather than spending big on free agents, says Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.

NFC West Rumors: Kaepernick, 49ers, Peterson

January 30th, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Colin Kaepernick is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, but it doesn’t sound like he intends to pry every last penny out of the 49ers if and when the two sides negotiate a long-term deal. Appearing on KNBR’s Murph & Mac, today, Kaepernick said that a “balance” was necessary for the sake of the team, as Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee details.

“You want to be paid fairly for what you feel like you’re doing in comparison to your peers,” Kaepernick said. “But at the same time, you have to realize, if we want to get Anquan Boldin back, if we want Donte Whitner to come back, we’re going to have to make moves to get them back. And there has to be room for everyone. And that’s something I’m going to let my agent and the organization try to figure out.”

Here’s more on Kaepernick and the Niners, along with notes on a couple other NFC West clubs:

  • Following up on Kaepernick’s comments about a possible extension, Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group writes that the 49ers quarterback is taking a smart approach to negotiations.
  • Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com takes a look at the 49ers‘ cap situation, including which players may not return in 2014 at their current salary.
  • Appearing at the Waste Management Phoenix Open Annexus Pro-Am, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson addressed his contract situation, saying that he’d like a deal that would keep him in Arizona “for a while,” according to Craig Grialou of ArizonaSports.com. Peterson is extension-eligible for the first time offseason, though the Cardinals could also simply exercise his fifth-year option for 2015 and put off negotiations for another year.
  • At least three coordinators involved in this weekend’s Super Bowl could be future head coaches, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe in a piece that discusses Seahawks OC Darrell Bevell and DC Dan Quinn.
  • Earlier today, we heard that Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald will be open to restructuring his contract this offseason.