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Can the 49ers compete with the Rams and Seahawks in the NFC West? | NFL Live
Can the 49ers compete with the Rams and Seahawks in the NFC West? | NFL Live
ESPN
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8:02 · Jun 25, 2026
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0:00
We have a lot to get to,
0:01
but we do start with those tight ends.
0:02
George Kittle, one of the proud founders of Tight End University,
0:06
uh which hosted its annual gathering this week.
0:08
He's working his way back from a season-ending injury in hopes of getting back
0:12
on the field early in this coming season.
0:15
Here's Kittle talking this week about the state of his team in a very
0:19
tough NFC West.
0:21
>> I feel like we've been in one of the toughest divisions for the
0:23
last 5 years.
0:24
I mean, the Seahawks are always good.
0:26
They have incredible home-field advantage.
0:28
The Rams are always super talented.
0:29
Sean McVay is a genius up there over there.
0:32
He's so good.
0:33
We're always talented and super gritty.
0:35
And so, that's all we have to do is just take advantage of the
0:37
plays that we have in front of us,
0:39
stay as healthy as we can, and just enjoy ourselves.
0:41
Have fun out there.
0:42
Football's a lot easier when you're having fun.
0:44
>> The NFC West could be fun to watch,
0:46
but it could be tough to play in.
0:47
Three teams, Kittle's 49ers along with last year's NFC Championship opponents,
0:52
the Super Bowl champion Seahawks, and the Rams,
0:54
all have greater than a 65% chance to make the playoffs.
0:58
Uh ESPN Analytics and DraftKings Sportsbook list the Rams as the division favorites.
1:03
Their off-season moves have been widely hailed around the league.
1:07
Now, look, 49ers were right there with those teams,
1:09
finished just a tick behind both of them last year.
1:11
How do you think they hold up this year?
1:13
>> I think two things can be true at once.
1:14
You don't often hear these two things together though.
1:16
One is that I think the 49ers are a top five NFL team going
1:20
into 2026 provided there's no major health setbacks between now
1:24
and the end of training camp.
1:26
I also think they're the third best team in their own division,
1:28
which is much more of a reflection of what Seattle is
1:31
and what the Rams have built further this off-season by acquiring Myles Garrett,
1:36
just some guy from Cleveland who they managed to get for the paltry price
1:39
of three draft picks
1:40
and Jared Verse.
1:41
This Niners team is so good.
1:42
There's not a glaring weakness on this roster.
1:44
Every year they do end up dealing with major injury attrition.
1:48
But the pass rush now, just by health,
1:51
should be better going into this upcoming season.
1:53
That was perhaps their biggest weakness last year.
1:56
They have perhaps the best running back in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey.
1:59
Brock Purdy was blistering at the end of last regular season.
2:03
>> >> Anything you have to say negative about the 49ers outlook is less
2:07
a reflection of them
2:08
and more reflection that
2:09
if you put them in maybe five
2:11
or six other divisions,
2:12
I'd be calling them the favorite.
2:14
The NFC West is just built different.
2:16
>> Yeah, Field, the offense is going to need a little bit of help
2:18
early in the season
2:18
though cuz you mentioned George Kittle coming back from
2:21
that Achilles.
2:21
He was lights out last season where Brock Purdy was throwing nearly 140% passer
2:26
rating when he was targeting Kittle.
2:27
He's coming back from that injury.
2:29
Christian McCaffrey's 30 years old.
2:30
He had 413 touches last year.
2:32
So, they do want to try to limit that a little bit.
2:34
Luckily for the 49ers, they have Mike Evans in the fold.
2:37
I'm told he's been balling out in the spring.
2:39
You talk to people there that really excited about how he gets open.
2:42
They got some young receivers they like too.
2:43
So, they're going to need a little bit of help there to get back
2:45
to their normal form.
2:46
>> Mike Evans, a true alpha wide receiver.
2:48
Of course, for the 49ers by now,
2:49
that was supposed to have been Brandon Aiyuk who they signed to a big
2:52
contract a couple years ago,
2:53
but then he didn't play last year.
2:55
They're in a major dispute with him.
2:57
He's still on the roster.
2:58
What's the latest on that situation?
3:00
>> he's lighting money on fire is what he's doing every time he posts
3:02
an Instagram video out right now.
3:03
So, he is on the left squad list for the 49ers still.
3:07
To get off that list, he has to apply to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
3:10
He has to file paperwork.
3:12
I'm told that hasn't happened.
3:13
I'm told the 49ers haven't given any sort of firm indication to him whether
3:16
he's going to be cut,
3:18
traded, whatever.
3:19
Teams I talked to say that he's essentially untradeable right now.
3:23
And I've talked to some people around the league who think
3:24
that when he does get cut,
3:26
if he gets cut,
3:26
that he might have to sign a vet minimum deal somewhere
3:28
because of how all this has gone.
3:30
So, it's a buyer beware situation.
3:33
Certainly, clearly, he wants to go to Washington.
3:35
Washington's not planning to sign a receiver right now.
3:37
Maybe closer to training camp they revisit it.
3:39
But, the outlook is not great for him right now.
3:41
>> Yeah, congratulations to Brandon Aiyuk who has managed to crack my Instagram algorithm
3:45
which was otherwise just how to hit your drive straight.
3:48
Now, it's how to hit your drive straight and the latest on Brandon Aiyuk.
3:52
One of the most bizarre sagas that I can recall in recent NFL vintage.
3:55
>> There's no doubt
3:56
and he might have had a long time to learn how to hit his
3:58
driver straight based on the way the last couple of years >> I still
4:01
can't hit my >> have gone.
4:02
One of two 49ers receivers to have at least 1,200 receiving yards in a
4:06
season over the last decade.
4:07
The other's Deebo Samuel.
4:08
He's not on the team anymore either.
4:10
So, a lot of transition there in San Francisco.
4:13
We're going to stay in
4:14
that tough NFC West division where Matthew Stafford is back for another season under
4:18
center in Los Angeles.
4:20
In his 17th NFL season last year,
4:22
Stafford won his first NFL MVP award at the age of 37.
4:26
That made him the third oldest MVP winner trailing only 40-year-old Tom Brady
4:31
and 38-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
4:33
But both those guys had already done it once.
4:35
He is the oldest player Stafford is to win MVP for the first time.
4:40
Previously that had been Y.A.
4:42
Tittle in 1963.
4:44
Stafford spoke this week about some advice he got from Drew Brees about life
4:48
as a quarterback approaching 40.
4:52
>> Cuz I was talking to Drew um this was before last season um
4:56
and he was like,
4:57
"How old are you again?"
4:58
I was like, "I'm 37."
4:59
He was like "You might have your best five years of your career coming
5:02
up."
5:03
You know, and and I was like, "Huh."
5:05
You know, I never really thought about it that way.
5:07
You're you're taught as a player in this league it's it's a young man's
5:10
game and and the older you get you're just kind of doing everything you
5:14
can to try to stay up to par with everybody else.
5:16
Drew saying that kind of lit a fire under me
5:18
and gives you a little bit of belief
5:19
that maybe an old guy can still go out there
5:21
and spin it around a little bit.
5:22
Obviously last year was a successful year for our team and for myself.
5:25
You know, just gives you a little bit of energy moving forward
5:27
and and hope that
5:28
that continues.
5:30
>> Okay, so Stafford going to be 38 now to play this season.
5:32
Last year at this time there was concerns about his back.
5:35
And and obviously, you know,
5:36
they they draft his eventual replacement
5:38
or so they think in the first round this year.
5:40
So, any word on how long he can still he plans to keep going?
5:44
>> Yeah, well Danny's under contract for two more years.
5:46
So, the Rams expect that and then it's wait and see.
5:48
But, Sean McVay did something really interesting last year.
5:51
He went to more three tight end sets,
5:53
more under center work for Matthew Stafford.
5:55
He did that to keep defenses guessing.
5:57
He also did it to prolong Stafford's health cuz he'd been beat up with
6:00
the back like you mentioned.
6:01
Then you have the MVP season.
6:03
It opened everything up for him.
6:04
Once he turned his back to the defense, was getting rid of the ball,
6:07
keeping himself healthy.
6:07
So, now it opens up a whole lot of possibilities for the Rams
6:11
and Stafford to keep going for maybe
6:13
as long as they like.
6:14
>> And they do have a blueprint from last off season to how they
6:16
managed him through the off season,
6:18
through training camp to make sure and get him ready.
6:20
When you watch him play, knowing everything that's going on there,
6:23
how long can he sustain his success?
6:25
>> I think Matthew Stafford has reached this very unique spot
6:28
that is reserved most often for accomplished quarterbacks
6:32
that have at some point in their career,
6:33
whether it's early or late, but often late,
6:36
decide they have a decision to make.
6:38
Do you want to let the game eventually retire you
6:42
or are you going to walk out on your own terms at some point?
6:44
What more is there left for Matthew Stafford to accomplish on an individual level?
6:49
He's now the reigning MVP, first team all-pro.
6:52
He has won a Super Bowl.
6:53
This team certainly has a Super Bowl within its sights this upcoming season
6:57
as well.
6:58
For Matthew, he's going to have to make a decision.
7:00
He'll probably reassess each off season.
7:02
I think in his own mind,
7:04
somewhere in the middle to late portion of February,
7:06
cuz the team aspires to play that long, and decide, "Hey,
7:08
I still have what it takes."
7:10
And he probably will for two to three more seasons.
7:12
But, he may also say to himself,
7:14
"How much more is there left for me to accomplish?"
7:16
And as we have seen with guys like Drew Brees
7:19
and Peyton Manning and Tom Brady,
7:20
there is usually an off-ramp for quarterbacks
7:23
if they want to do something else with their life in football,
7:25
but not playing football.
7:27
So, Matthew Stafford I think is one of those guys
7:29
that is going to have a decision to make each off season,
7:32
and there probably isn't a wrong answer given how high of a level of
7:36
play he was at just recently
7:37
as last year.
7:38
>> He and the Rams have certainly been great for each other since
7:41
that that match got made about five years ago.
7:44
Last year was the first year he led the league in either passing yards
7:47
or passing touchdowns,
7:48
and he led the league in both.
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