NFC West

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle returned to practice Friday for the first time since suffering a groin injury during the preseason.

The three-time Pro Bowler missed the 49ers' Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears and sat out the first two practice sessions ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. General manager John Lynch said the team is hopeful Kittle will be able to play.

"We're going to hold out hope that George is ready," Lynch said Friday on KNBR. "We'll see if we get him out here today. I think that's critical. And if that doesn't happen, it's probably not looking good. But George is a type of player that you even wait until Sunday. I did that many times in my career, where you don’t practice all week, you find a way to go test it before the game. So I think it's going to go right down to the wire. He is improving, though, and we just want to make sure we have a healthy Kittle for the entirety of the season moving forward."

Kittle is arguably the NFL's best all-around tight end when healthy. The problem has been keeping him on the field. He's missed 12 games since the start of the 2020 season, and the 49ers are 4-8 in those contests.

Getting Kittle back in the lineup will be critical for second-year quarterback Trey Lance, who posted a miserable performance in last week's rain-soaked loss to Chicago. The weather is supposed to be more favorable in Sunday's home opener, and having his full complement of pass-catchers should give the 49ers a better idea of where Lance is in his development.

San Francisco will be without running back Elijah Mitchell for at least the next eight weeks with a knee injury.

Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey isn't bothered at all by the talk of his performance in the team's Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Ramsey explained he has taken the criticism as a "compliment" because of the standard he has set for himself:

Week 1 was rough for most of the Rams players in their 31-10 defeat. The offense had just 243 yards and Matthew Stafford threw three interceptions.

Ramsey may have had the worst individual performance of any player in the game based on his stat line. The three-time All-Pro allowed six receptions on seven targets for 94 yards, one touchdown and a perfect passer rating (158.3).

The big play against Ramsey was a 53-yard touchdown catch by Stefon Diggs in the fourth quarter.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen does have a history of success against Ramsey's teams.

While those numbers aren't entirely reflective of how well Ramsey has played in three games against Allen, it is surprising to see any quarterback that has fared this well against a team with one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.

Given Ramsey's long history of playing at an elite level, it seems unlikely one bad game is an indication teams have figured out how to attack him.

The Rams will host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. If Ramsey gets burned in coverage for a second straight week, then it might be time to start speculating about what is going on in Los Angeles.

Seattle Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is reportedly expected to miss the remainder of the 2022 season with a quad injury.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that Adams will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn quad tendon.

Adams suffered the injury during Seattle's 17-16 season-opening win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night on just his 15th snap of the game.

Prior to exiting, Adams had three tackles, one pass defended and one quarterback hit on former teammate Russell Wilson.

The 26-year-old Adams has long been viewed as one of the best pass-rushing defensive backs in football, although he expanded his game a bit last season.

Originally the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft by the New York Jets, Adams was traded to Seattle in 2020 for a package that included two first-round picks.

In three seasons with the Jets, Adams was a two-time Pro Bowler and one-time first-team All-Pro. He also earned a Pro Bowl nod during his first season with the Seahawks in 2020 when he registered 83 tackles and 9.5 sacks despite missing four games.

The 9.5 sacks were a single-season NFL record by a defensive back. Adams broke the record of eight previously held by Adrian Wilson.

Last season, Adams didn't have a single sack for the first time in his career, but he finished with 87 tackles and a career-high two interceptions in 12 games.

Injuries have been an issue for Adams during his career, as he is set to miss time for the fourth consecutive season.

After playing in all 16 games in each of his first two NFL campaigns, Adams missed two games in 2019, four games in 2020 and five games last season. Now he is poised to miss 16 games in 2022.

Fellow Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs will be the unquestioned leader of Seattle's secondary during Adams' absence, but finding a replacement will be difficult.

Veteran Josh Jones played the bulk of the snaps after Adams got injured on Monday, and he is the top candidate to serve as Seattle's starter next to Diggs.

Steve Young knows what it's like to be the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback, and he doesn't envy the position Trey Lance is in.

"Let's not dance around the truth—Trey's got a nearly impossible job," the Hall of Famer told the San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Silver. "How many bodies have broken trying to do that? Death or glory, right? And it's 95 percent death.

"I've got to be honest with you: This job has always been a Super Bowl-or-bust job. Let's admit it: It's a high-wire act for anybody. Trey's goal right now is not to hold the team back."

Young added that the presence of Jimmy Garoppolo "does not change the job" and that Lance or any quarterback is "not gonna make it anyway" if it affects him.

Expectations were high for Lance after the 49ers traded up to select him third overall in the 2021 NFL draft. It doesn't help that he'll be measured against the standard Young and Joe Montana set when they called the Bay Area home.

Montana guided the 49ers to four Super Bowl titles as a starter, while Young was a two-time MVP and led San Francisco to another title in the 1994 season.

Lance won't be considered a bust if he fails to match Montana and Young's achievements, but anything short of winning the Super Bowl will likely be a disappointment.

The jury remains out on the 22-year-old, as it would be with any quarterback in his second year and his first full season as a starter. His performance hasn't provided any clarity. Through seven appearances, he has thrown for 767 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions, and his Week 1 production in sloppy conditions (13-of-28 for 164 yards and one interception) left a lot to be desired.

Now that he's QB1, Lance will have every opportunity to silence his skeptics, but Young's comments underscore the enormity of the task.

Fantasy managers weren't the only ones surprised by Cam Akers' limited usage in the Los Angeles Rams' season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 8.

Speaking to reporters about the situation, Akers said he was surprised about not being used more in the game but acknowledged he didn't "want to make it too big, bigger than what it is" with 16 games still remaining.

Akers played 12 of the Rams' 66 offensive snaps in the loss to Buffalo. He had zero rushing yards on three carries and wasn't targeted in the passing game.

One reason Rams head coach Sean McVay may have kept Akers off the field was because he seemed to ignore a blocking assignment that resulted in Matthew Stafford getting hit on a completion to Cooper Kupp.

McVay told reporters after the game Akers has to maximize his opportunities when he gets on the field and see an "increased level of urgency and accountability snap in and snap out from him."

"If Coach don't think I'm being urgent, then [I need to] be more urgent," Akers said on Wednesday. "That's what it comes down to."

Akers is still working his way back into peak form after tearing his Achilles during training camp before the start of the 2021 season. The 23-year-old did return for L.A.'s playoff run, though he was largely ineffective with 248 yards from scrimmage with zero touchdowns on 77 touches.

Darrell Henderson Jr. was given the bulk of Los Angeles' reps at running back in Week 1. He played 55 snaps, racking up 73 yards from scrimmage on 18 touches.

Very few things went right for the Rams in their 31-10 loss. The offense had 243 total yards and turned the ball over three times.

Akers and the Rams have an opportunity to right the ship starting in Week 2. They will host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at SoFi Stadium looking to get their first win of the season.

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Monday night's win over Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos was "really rewarding" to the team's former players.

Carroll pointed to the high number of Hawks icons, including Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman, who were in attendance for the season-opening game during an appearance Tuesday on KIRO radio (via ESPN's Brady Henderson).

"I wanted to win for all of the reasons that come along with this one," he said. "Maybe as much as anything is representing the guys that have played before. It meant a lot to those guys. I was so thrilled to be able to hug those guys up and see them and look them in the eye."

When asked to expand on why it meant so much to Wilson's former Seattle teammates, the longtime coach was reluctant to yield much information.

"Eh, you figure that out," Carroll said. "But it was really meaningful and they really wanted it and I knew we were playing for a lot more than just the regular stuff. We have a real connection with the history. ... They feel it and they love the fact that they played here and they love seeing us do well. On this night, they realized there was a big opportunity and a big statement to be made: The game isn't about an individual player here or there. It's about team. This is the ultimate team sport and it's been stated so many times before. It takes everybody."

It's become clear there was a lot of behind-the-scenes drama leading up to Wilson's departure in a March trade to the Broncos.

Although the cracks in the relationship between Wilson and the organization started to show through in early 2021, when the future Hall of Fame QB when on a media tour to air his grievances with the franchise, it seemingly dates back far longer than that.

Baldwin, another former Hawks player in attendance Monday night, previously told Henderson those on the inside knew a breakup was coming for a while.

"From my vantage point, the divorce was inevitable and was many years in the making," he said. "The reasons are multiple, but ultimately, I think it comes down to a difference of pursuits."

So while the sides enjoyed plenty of success together, highlighted by winning the Super Bowl XLVIII title at the end of the 2013 season, the partnership kept trending in the wrong direction over the past few years.

Even the Seahawks fans gave Wilson a rude welcome for his return to Lumen Field:

Perhaps it was the cleansing moment the franchise needed to wash away the drama of recent years and move toward a new era. And, even though Carroll stopped short of any juicy soundbites, his message about the win's importance wasn't shielded.

The storyline probably won't have much legs moving forward since the teams play in opposite conferences, but that doesn't mean the emotion from Monday's victory can't help propel the Seahawks in the weeks ahead. Seattle has an NFC West matchup Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Meanwhile, it's clear Wilson and the Broncos have a lot of work to do if they're going to emerge as a threat amid an AFC West race jam-packed with contenders.

The San Francisco 49ers are in need of some running back depth after losing Elijah Mitchell to an MCL sprain, and they reportedly turned to a veteran.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 49ers signed former Houston Texans running back Marlon Mack to their practice squad on Tuesday.

Mitchell is expected to miss the next two months, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced on Monday. He suffered the injury in the first half of Sunday's 19-10 loss to the Chicago Bears and didn't return to the game. It's the second straight year that he has injured his knee in the season opener.

Mack was signed by the Texans in April, but the team released him in September. He spent the first five years of his career with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him with a fourth-round pick in 2017.

The 26-year-old appeared in six games in 2021 and rushed for 101 yards with no touchdowns. He suffered a torn Achilles in Week 1 of the previous season that might have still affected him last year.

Mack enjoyed the best season of his career in 2019, rushing for a career-high 1,091 yards in 14 games while adding eight touchdowns on 247 carries. If he's able to stay healthy, he could earn a promotion from San Francisco's practice squad.

Fifth-year speedster Jeff Wilson Jr. will assume the lead back duties for the 49ers. However, his backups are rookies Jordan Mason and Tyrion Davis-Price. Adding an experienced running back like Mack could help improve the team's depth.

San Francisco will go for its first win of the season when it hosts the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs lost cornerback Trent McDuffie (hamstring) and kicker Harrison Butker (ankle) to injuries during Sunday's win over the Arizona Cardinals, and head coach Andy Reid pointed to the turf at Arizona's State Farm Stadium as the problem.

"They re-sodded it, which is a good thing because they practice in there," he said, per Adam Teicher of ESPN. "But it was a little bit loose. That's what happens sometimes when you re-sod is it's loose.

"It was part of the Butker injury and McDuffie injury. ... The turf picked up, and I would tell you that that did have something to do with it. If it didn't, I would tell you that, too. So it's not an excuse by any means, but I mean, you all can see it. Watch the tape."

Teicher noted McDuffie will miss at least four games, including Thursday's against the Los Angeles Chargers, after going on injured reserve with the setback.

Butker may also miss the game against the Chargers, and Kansas City responded by signing kicker Matt Ammendola to its practice squad. Ammendola appeared in 11 games for the New York Jets last season and made 13 of his 19 field goals (68.4 percent) and 14 of his 15 extra points (93.3 percent).

The Chiefs had to scramble during Sunday's game after Butker suffered the injury and turned to safety Justin Reid.

Reid kicked off and also made one of the two extra points he attempted.

"This guy does have a lot of talent; it's real," Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub told reporters when discussing Reid's performance. "It's real and he did it. It's unbelievable, but it's impressive, as well."

Still, having a safety handling kicking duties probably isn't the best recipe for long-term success on special teams. Kansas City didn't have to worry too much about it during its Week 1 win over the Cardinals because the game was never in doubt as it built a 37-7 lead through three quarters.

Patrick Mahomes went 30-of-39 passing for 360 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The Seattle Seahawks will be without one of their key defensive players for the foreseeable future.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that Adams will need surgery after suffering a significant knee injury in Monday night's season opener against the Denver Broncos.

"Yeah, he's hurt," Carroll told Seattle Sports 710-AM (h/t ESPN's Brady Henderson). "He hurt his knee and he's going to have to get some work on that. I don't know the extent of it yet, but I know it's serious."

Adams was carted off in the second quarter of Seattle's 17-16 victory after he was injured while blitzing Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, his former Seahawks teammate. Adams limped off the field and was visibly favoring his left leg. He was examined in the medical tent before he was helped onto the cart and driven into the locker room.

"It just breaks your heart," Carroll said. "He loves the game so much. We're going to miss him so much."

After missing just two games in his first three NFL seasons while he was with the New York Jets, Adams has been bitten by the injury bug in recent years. He missed four games in 2020 with a groin injury and then sat out the final five games of last season due to a torn labrum in his shoulder that required surgery.

Adams also was forced to miss time early in training camp this year because of a broken finger. He's underwent finger surgeries in each of the last two offseasons.

This latest setback is especially disappointing for Adams, who was hoping to have a bounce-back performance this season. In his debut season for Seattle in 2020, he was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl after setting an NFL record for a defensive back with 9.5 sacks. However, he was held without a sack in 12 games in 2021 before his season came to an end early.

"The fact that he is such a heartthrob about the game of football, he loves playing and he just can't deal with it right now about 'how could this keep happening?'" Carroll said. "It was good he had his mom and dad in the locker room really during the game when he was in there to kind of help him through it and all that, but it was really tough. So I hope everybody sends the love to him."