NFC Notes: Christian McCaffrey, Emmanuel Forbes, 49ers, Rams

Christian McCaffrey

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey has his health back, and HC Kyle Shanahan commented on the team’s star offensive leader.

“Christian is as ready as any player I’ve ever been around,” Shanahan said, via Pro Football Talk. “When he gets hurt, he’s got to rehab and get better. Right now, he’s healthy as can be. We’ve got to kind of protect him from himself, but Christian has a good idea of what he needs to do right now. He’s doing a lot less than he normally would do, but I know he is excited about how healthy he feels and the fact that he can get out there.”

49ers

49ers LB Fred Warner signed a three-year, $63 million deal this offseason, finally getting his extension along with QB Brock Purdy and TE George Kittle. Warner is happy to see that his deserving teammates received extensions. 

“I’m so grateful to everyone involved, including the whole York family, John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan,” Warner said, via 49ers.com. “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. 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. Being able to fulfill my dream of being an NFL player, of being a 49er, I truly feel that same exact way. Signing this deal, it still is a dream to me.”

Rams

The Rams claimed CB Emmanuel Forbes from the Commanders after the former first-round pick was waived last season.

“I got here late in the season so it’s kind of hard to learn the ins and outs of the defense,” Forbes said, via Adam Grosbard of the LA Daily News. “So since I had a whole offseason here, been here most of the time and just learning the ins and outs of the defense, you know, I’m able to play faster and play smarter, honestly, and make plays on the ball.”

Forbes’ efforts since joining the roster have been recognized by HC Sean McVay, who spoke about Forbes at length during OTA’s.

“I was really impressed with the way that he came in, his willingness to be coached, his openness to maybe some different techniques,” McVay told reporters. “And that’s really tough to do in the middle of the year, especially given the background of the Washington. And I thought he came in with a great demeanor and disposition. Aubrey (Pleasant) always does such a good job of being able to connect with guys, let me connect with you first, then let me learn how we can continue to communicate, speak the saying languages, and then I’ll be able to slowly feed you what we’re trying to be able to get done in bite-size increments. And you’ve just seen the progression.”

“Today was the first step, but you can see even when he’s responding to questions, what he’s showing in the walkthroughs, even watching him in some full speed settings today, you see the ability in some of the individual drills, the movements, the ability to get in and out of breaks and things like that and then the length and the ball skills to be able to pick the ball off. Those are big deals,” McVay continued. “I thought he did some really good stuff against Seattle in Week 18 last year. And so I’m encouraged to really use this as an evaluation. And you guys know, we try to get as many meaningful reps in these settings as possible. The closest thing to real football without playing tackle is when we can put the pads on. So there still is an understanding of we’re just trying to set foundations, but I think he’s done a really good job with what he can control.”