NFC Notes: 49ers, Eli, Rodgers, Lions

Cornerback Tramaine Brock drew interest from his former team, the 49ers, before the Seahawks signed him on Wednesday, according to his agent, Ron Slavin. “The 49ers denied it, but they called me the minute [his case] got dismissed and wanted him back,” Slavin told Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Brock spent the first seven years of his career with the 49ers, who released him April 7 on the heels of an arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. Charges were dropped last week, though, leading a slew of teams to inquire about Brock before he chose Seattle. The 49ers announced that they were not among those clubs, but Slavin says otherwise. Brock will face his ex-team twice this year.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • Giants quarterback Eli Manning, 36, told Ian O’Connor of ESPN.com on Wednesday that he’s optimistic about playing into his 40s. “Yeah, I think sitting here right now, I think I can play another four years,” said Manning, who’s under contract for three more seasons. Manning has been the picture of durability throughout his career, having played 16 games in every season other than 2004 – his rookie year, which he began as a backup. He’s similar in that regard to two-time Super Bowl opponent Tom Brady, whose ability to stay on the field for the vast majority of his career has helped him hang around into his 40s. Of course, durability was also key for Eli Manning’s brother, Peyton Manning, who managed to play until the age of 39.
  • Staying on the subject of Hall of Fame-bound signal-callers, Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com opines that Green Bay must sign Aaron Rodgers to a new deal within the next year. While Rodgers is already under contract through 2019, awarding him a new pact would kill the possibility of the franchise tag coming into play, which Dougherty argues is rather important. Tagging Rodgers after 2019 would cost the Packers around $25MM, and that number would increase substantially if they were to franchise him again the next year. And if Rodgers doesn’t have an extension soon, the 33-year-old could decide he’d be better off playing under the tag for as long as possible and raking in all the guaranteed cash that comes with it, contends Dougherty.
  • With the Lions having lost Kerry Hyder and Brandon Copeland to season-ending injuries in recent days, they’re likely to look outside the organization for help along the defensive line, writes Nate Atkins of MLive.com. The Lions don’t possess a ton of cap space (around $7MM), but they have enough to pick someone up, contends Atkins, who lists Jared Odrick, Dwight Freeney, Paul Kruger, Trent Cole and Sen’Derrick Marks as logical targets in free agency. On the trade market, Atkins wonders if the Lions could pursue the Jets’ Sheldon Richardson, whom they’ve been shopping since last year. However, at upward of $8MM, Richardson has a high cap number, and he put the kibosh on potential trades with multiple teams earlier this year when he refused to take a pay cut.
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