NFC West: Super Bowl-winning Rams, contending Cardinals and 49ers, remixing Seahawks
NFC WEST
ARIZONA CARDINALS
Coach: Kliff Kingsbury (fourth season in Arizona, 24-24-1 in the regular season, 0-1 in the playoffs).
Last season: 11-6 (second in the division), lost in the NFC Wild Card round to the Rams.
Key additions: WR Marquise Brown, G Will Hernandez.
Key subtractions: LB Chandler Jones, LB Jordan Hicks, WR Christian Kirk, RB Chase Edmonds, C/G Max Garcia, NT Corey Peters.
Looking ahead: Arizona could have been the Rams last season. That could be the Cardinals this season — if they stay healthy. They were 7-0 when DE J.J. Watt got injured, and WR DeAndre Hopkins got injured soon after. The offense went from scoring more than 30 every week to scoring less than 20 four times, including losses to Detroit and Carolina. Get these guys early because when Hopkins finishes his six-game suspension for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs, he and Marquise Brown will upset defenders’ digestion every Sunday as they run under Kyler Murray passes.
LOS ANGELES RAMS
Coach: Sean McVay (seventh season with the Rams, 55-26 in the regular season, 7-3 in the playoffs).
Last season: 12-5 (first in the division), won the Super Bowl.
Key additions: LB Bobby Wagner, CB Troy Hill, WR Allen Robinson II, P Riley Dixon.
Key subtractions: LB Von Miller, OT Andrew Whitworth, G Austin Corbett, CB Darious Williams, LB Troy Reeder, WR Odell Beckham Jr., RB Sony Michel, WR Robert Woods, P Johnny Hekker.
Looking ahead: The Hunger Games team. How hungry will Matt Stafford be at 34, with all he has been through, now that he has shown, yes, on a good team, he can be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback? Can Cooper Kupp stay hungry after leading the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns? Can the team stay hungry with some offseason changes creating a new mix? Don’t ask whether defensive end Aaron Donald remains hungry — you don’t need that kind of violence in your life. He took off an opponent’s helmet and swung it during a fight … in practice.
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SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Coach: Kyle Shanahan (sixth season in San Francisco; 39-42 in the regular season, 4-2 in the playoffs).
Last season: 10-7 (third in the division).
Key additions: CB Charvarius Ward
Key subtractions: G Laken Tomlinson, S Jaquiski Tartt, DT D.J. Jones, CB Josh Norman, CB K’Waun Williams.
Looking ahead: “A pass rush late in the game is the key to winning in the NFL,” Hall of Fame 49ers coach Bill Walsh said decades ago. San Francisco had 10-point leads in Super Bowl 54 and, two years later, the NFC Championship Game. They lost both. And this is supposed to be one of the best front fours? QB Jimmy Garroppolo, who had shoulder surgery in March, has been supplanted by 22-year-old Trey Lance. WR Deebo Samuel asked for a trade. Management pulled out money. Samuel’s still a 49er, one who averaged 18.2 yards per catch and 6.2 yards per carry when he ran.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
Coach: Pete Carroll (13th season in Seattle, 119-73-1 in the regular season, 10-8 in the playoffs).
Last season: 7-10 (fourth in the division).
Key additions:. QB Drew Lock, OT Charles Cross, CB Artie Burns, TE Noah Fant, DE Shelby Harris.
Key subtractions: QB Russell Wilson, LB Bobby Wagner, OT Duane Brown, DE Rasheem Green, OT Brandon Shell, CB D.J. Reed, C Ethan Pocic.
Looking ahead: Not only did the best quarterback in franchise history (sorry, Jim Zorn) get traded, but the Seahawks lost the quarterback of their defense. Just as Russell Wilson covered up glitches on offense, Bobby Wagner fixed defensive glitches on the fly. QB Drew Lock’s performance can often reopen wounds that the defense closed, or at least it did in Denver, where he marched in the Parade of Peyton Replacements.
This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 5:45 AM with the headline "NFC West: Super Bowl-winning Rams, contending Cardinals and 49ers, remixing Seahawks."
