NFC Notes: Brandon Aiyuk, Trent McDuffie, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

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49ers Former NFL WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh is a personal coach for WR Brandon Aiyuk and says teams must approach Aiyuk with caution if he is released by San Francisco. “Yes, [teams] should want them. But you got to be careful,” Houshmandzadeh said . “BA is still really young, fast, quick, explosive, but what he did last year is kind of crazy. You got all this guaranteed money. You ain’t showing up. You’re getting fined and you basically forego what was it? Over 30 million, right? Like, if you’re a team and you give him a good contract, is this what you’re going to get? Because this is what he has shown us. Signed his deal with the Niners, bad luck, he gets hurt. Don’t want that. But it’s how he handled everything after that…Yes, he’s going to get signed, but if you’re a team, you got to structure that contract the right way. You got to make sure that you protect yourself because of what he’s shown you to be. You know, [general manager] John Lynch and [head coach] Kyle Shanahan, they talking to their people across the NFL, telling them everything that went down and how it occurred. And so, yes, I would want him on my team. I would. But it got to be at the right price. I got to make sure financially that we are protected as a team and organization because I’ve just I’ve never seen anybody do this at so young of an age, got so many years ahead of him. I just have never seen this.” 49ers TE George Kittle spoke about Aiyuk during a recent podcast appearance : “The last time I saw Aiyuk, he was kinda at training camp, kinda not and then he was in and out of the building throughout the first couple of weeks. Then I started going out to see him in the weight room because he didn’t go into the locker room or the training room anymore. He would just go into the weight room to do his rehab. I would go there and talk to him because he didn’t go to meetings or anything like that. I would just talk to him and let him know ‘I’m your guy. Just letting you know I love ya’. I started doing that week 6 and then a week later that story came out about all the crazy stuff and then I didn’t see him again. It’s not something I bring up to John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan very often. I’m like that’s on you guys. I just try to be there for the players if something is going on… I don’t know what’s going on with Brandon. I don’t know what he’s thinking about. So I really have no idea… He did text me after I got hurt and said ‘thinking of ya’ and I said thanks dude.” Cardinals The Cardinals signed QB Gardner Minshew to a one-year, $5.75 million deal that includes a $2.25 million signing bonus, $5.14 million fully guaranteed, and a $2.89 million salary. ( Wilson ) SI.com’s Albert Breer names the Dolphins, Browns, Jets and Cardinals as teams looking to 2027 for a quarterback. While none of the options are locked in as top-five picks now, there are numerous players who can rise to that level compared to the 2025 and 2026 classes. Rams Rams CB Jaylen Watson said that his specialty is lining up against the opposing teams larger receivers and using his length against them. “ I think [matching up with bigger receivers is] my strength, ” Watson said, via ESPN . “ That’s why I think me and Trent complement each other so well. His strengths are short-area quickness — the small shifty guys. My strengths are the biggest hitter. So we should be pretty diverse. We should be able to match up pretty well against a lot of different looks we get. ” McDuffie is from Southern California and…