NFC Notes: Javon Kinlaw, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

49ers GM John Lynch said DL Javon Kinlaw is going into the offseason healthy after dealing with a knee injury last season.

“I’m really excited for (Kinlaw) because he’s going into an offseason healthy,” Lynch said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. “We’re committed to him and watching him be part of this group. He’s excited about that.”

Lynch thinks injuries have held back Kinlaw during his time in San Francisco.

“Maybe because of the injuries it hasn’t gone as well as we all might have anticipated, as well as it would have had he been healthy,” Lynch said. “That’s part of this thing, so now he is healthy. He gets to be a part of how we rotate guys in and out. He’s going to be part of that rotation.”

Lynch said he and HC Kyle Shanahan identified the defensive line as an area for improvement.

“Kyle and I started talking, ‘How do you improve this team?’” Lynch said. “And the one area that was glaring to us — and it’s interesting to say this because we were the No. 1 defense in football — but we felt like we’d fallen off maybe just a tad on the D-line. It wasn’t as dominant as we were accustomed to back in ’19. And we wanted to get back to that.”

Cardinals

Per Howard Balzer, new Cardinals LB Josh Woods‘ new contract is for one year at $1,232,500 and includes $777,500 guaranteed. There is also a $152,500 signing bonus and a salary of $1.08 million with $625,000 guaranteed.
Balzer also mentions that the team has given CB Rashad Fenton a one-year contract worth $1,232,500 that includes a signing bonus of $76,250 guaranteed, a $1.08 million salary, and a $76,250 roster bonus.
The Cardinals met with TCU CB Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson following his pro day. (Tony Pauline)
The Cardinals will host TCU RB Kendre Miller for a top 30 visit. (Aaron Wilson)

Rams

New Rams TE Hunter Long is excited to be in Los Angeles and work with TEs coach Nick Caley, even if he was surprised to be traded by the Dolphins.

“Definitely, it was a surprise for me, but I’m really excited for it,” Long said, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official site. “Really excited to join the Rams, really excited to get out there and start working with the coaching staff. Coach (Nick) Caley’s a great tight end coach they just brought in, so I’m really excited to start working with him. But yeah, just excited for the opportunity. It’s a great opportunity for me and excited to take advantage of it.”

Long called playing for the Dolphins a “tricky situation” given they already had multiple established tight ends when he was a third-round pick in 2021.

“I came into kind of a tricky situation. I came into a tight end room that already had five tight ends, and three established tight ends,” Long said. “As a rookie, my role was with a rookie role and kind of plugged in where I could and do I what could. This last year, I definitely carved out a bigger role for myself. Unfortunately, dealt with some injuries early on, and kind of picked up steam later in the season when I was able to get over those injuries. I was definitely in more of a blocking role this year, but that was not because I can’t run routes and catch the ball, you know? I’m as team guy as they come, and whatever the team needs to do to win games and help the team be successful, I’m gonna do and do to the best of my ability. So that’s all I was asked to do, and I tried to excel at that, but that’s obviously not my whole game.”