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NFC Notes: Matthew Stafford, 49ers, Rams, Seahawks
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

49ers

Matt Barrows and Vic Tafur of The Athletic give their projection of the 49ers’ 53-man roster for 2025:

Rams

Matthew Stafford has been missing practice as he deals with a back injury. Rams HC Sean McVay doesn’t have any concerns about the veteran quarterback, and they want to stay “careful and cautious as possible” to make sure he’s available for the regular season. 

“He’s so in tune with his body and talking with him, I feel really good,” McVay said, via RamsWire. “And I think that’s why you want to be as careful and cautious as possible because of the importance of him feeling good. And these are things that… I don’t believe it’s going to affect his ability to be ready to roll. We’ve got a lot of time.”

After initially saying he expected Stafford back soon, McVay clarified that he should’ve called Stafford week-to-week. 

“What I probably should have done is say we’re taking it a week at a time, but I don’t have any reason to be concerned based on the information that’s been given,” McVay said. “With that being said, I don’t think we can be smart enough with somebody like Matthew and I think it’s best for him, best for our football team. That’s the plan that we’ll have moving forward. I know that will surprise people, but I did want to at least let you guys know as we’re being fluid with this, but I don’t have any reason for concern.”

When asked if he’s worried about Stafford missing Week 1, McVay said they just want him to feel as good as possible. 

“I think the fair answer is, I’m going to take it a day at a time as well,” McVay said. “I can’t be 27 days from now in Houston. We have to be able to have agility and flexibility, and that’s not exclusive to Matthew. That’s really for all our guys. I think the most important thing is, number one, my job is to support him, put my arm around him and let him know that, ‘Hey, love you. I’m sorry that we’re going through this let’s keep a positive mindset and let’s continue to attack this thing to try to be able to get our hands around it’ so that he can feel as good as possible when we open up against Houston.”

Seahawks

Seahawks fifth-round WR Tory Horton has been flashing in training camp this summer, and HC Mike MacDonald told reporters after Thursday’s preseason game that he was happy to see Horton stand out in a game setting.

“Yeah, it was great,” Macdonald said, via Pro Football Talk. “Then to see him catch the punt was awesome, I’m not sure how long that return was, but that helped us there. Then obviously the touchdown and you just felt him out there in those situations, which was a continuation of what we’re seeing in practice. Great to see it in a game setting.”

This article first appeared on NFLTradeRumors.co and was syndicated with permission.

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