49ers

Matt Barrows of The Athletic examines the 49ers’ offensive depth chart going into training camp:

• At quarterback, Barrows writes that Kurtis Rourke is the favorite for the No. 3 role, but he will compete with Adrian Martinez for the job. 
• For the running back spot, Barrows notes Jordan James will have to hold off third-rounder Kaelon Black for the No. 2 role. Barrows could also see Sincere McCormick as the first running back to get cut, given that he’s signed, cut, and re-signed this offseason.
• Barrows has second-round WR De’Zhaun Stribling competing with Christian Kirk for the No. 3 role, while Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins are competing for the fifth-receiver and punt returner job. Junior Bergen is another outlier who could contend for the punt returner spot. 
• Barrows has Brayden Willis as the No. 4 tight end going into training camp behind George Kittle, Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges. He could see Willis making the Week 1 roster with Kittle’s injury status still murky. 
• With the offensive tackle spot, Barrows has Vederian Lowe as their backup left tackle behind Trent Williams, while Austen Pleasants is best suited for the back right tackle spot behind Colton McKivitz.
• Barrows also views fifth-round OT Enrique Cruz Jr. as the “heir apparent” to Williams, but the rookie should be in “learning mode” for 2026. 
• Barrows has Connor Colby penciled in as San Francisco’s starting left guard, but he’ll compete with Carver Willis and Brett Toth. Barrows could also see Toth continuing to get time at center. 

Rams

Rams GM Les Snead admitted that retired DL Aaron Donald is truly considering coming back for the first time since walking away from the game.

“This is the first time Aaron’s … probably had the itch to come back, try to do something meaningful — which has been cool to see,” Snead said. “When you retire from the NFL, that’s probably a cliff that’s like, the next chapter, it’s foggy. It’s like, wait a minute, is the next portion of my life going to be as… But it’s interesting with Aaron, he’s really enjoyed these years off and hasn’t necessarily missed the game. He says he’s missed it every now and then, but not enough to say, I want to come back. This is the first time that, you know what, there’s a real itch there.”

“It’s almost like, how many times in a lifetime in like this universe thing where, OK, wait a minute, [you get] Myles Garrett, now Aaron Donald wants to come back,” Snead added. “He happens to be still young enough to do it. Like, that doesn’t happen often. So, I think I would show up to the game, and it wouldn’t be like you were the G.M. It would be like, wow, this is kind of something I’m watching on Netflix.”

Seahawks

Seahawks OLB Dante Fowler talked about how excited he was to be in Seattle and how he wanted to be an asset for an already strong unit.

“The strengthening team here is probably like the best strengthening team I’ve ever been a part of,” Fowler said, via the team’s website. “Usually in OTAs guys want to go and do their own thing. I wanted to be here. I was looking forward to being with the strength coaches. They get me in really great shape. I feel like how I played when I was in Washington with the Commanders. Like I knew I was going to have a great season, just because of the work that I put in, in the offseason, how good of shape I was. I feel like that.”

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald said that Fowler has made his presence known early in training camp.

“You can definitely feel him today,” Macdonald said. “You want to affect the quarterback, but not too much at this part of the training camp. So he’s doing great. He’s doing great. He’s getting used to how we roll here and I think he’s enjoying his time, which is a positive, but definitely seeing flashes for sure. So we’re excited about it.”

Fowler added that he’s just trying to perform within his role and learn from the veterans on the team.

“They’re bringing all the new guys and the young guys along really well,” Fowler said. “But you know like I just fall in line and do what I’m supposed to do. They already had a great defense before we got here and they won a Super Bowl. It was the best defense in the world last year. So my job is to just fall in line and do whatever I gotta do to make this defense upgrade a little bit more.“