The San Francisco 49ers held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter but ended up falling 20-17 to the Los Angeles Rams in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

Afterward, Jimmy Garoppolo admitted he was dealing with a lot of emotions in what could very well be his final game with the 49ers.

"[The emotions] hit pretty hard in the locker room," Garoppolo said. "I think these next couple of days it will really start to settle in a little bit. Emotions are high after a game win or loss, and it's one of those things you've got to be glad it happened, smile from it, and think about the good things. We'll see what happens in these next couple days, weeks, whatever, but I love this team. Just the fight and the battle in this team throughout the entire year has been really impressive. I love those guys."

San Francisco traded a second-round pick for Garoppolo in 2017 and then signed him to what was at the time a record-breaking five-year, $137.5 million contract.

Garoppolo has one year left on his contract, but the 49ers traded up to draft Trey Lance with the third overall pick last spring.

"I love Jimmy," Kyle Shanahan said. "I'm not going to sit here and make a farewell statement or anything right now. There's a lot of stuff on my mind. Jimmy has battled his ass off, he battled today and he did some unbelievable things today. I love coaching Jimmy."

John Mara has ruled out the possibility of the New York Giants pursuing a trade for Deshaun Watson.

“We’re not trading for Deshaun Watson,” Mara said in response to an inquiry regarding Watson.

“There are so many reasons why. Cap wise, we couldn’t afford him. But more importantly, with the allegations that are out there, that’s just not the right fit for us.”

Mara also said that the Giants have not given up on the possibility of Daniel Jones becoming a viable starting quarterback for the team.

“We’ve done everything possible to screw this kid up since he’s been here," said Mara. "We certainly have not given up on Daniel Jones.”

Matt LaFleur says all of the Green Bay Packers' top decision-makers want Aaron Rodgers back with the team next season.

"Every conversation that I've been involved in with [Brian Gutekunst] and [Russ Ball] and [Mark Murphy], we're all on the same page there," LaFleur said. "There's no debate."

The question remains, however, whether Rodgers wants to return to the organization after a rocky offseason in 2021.

"I haven't even been part of any of those discussions, nor have I -- like I said last year -- allowed my mind to kind of get to that point," LaFleur said. "I just want to do everything in our power to try to get him back here and making sure he's comfortable with the direction of our football team, and confident that we can continue to have success here, and try to find a way to get us kind of over that hump so we can reach further and further and further."

The Philadelphia Eagles expect Jalen Hurts to remain their starting quarterback next season.

"We've got to do whatever we can to continue to help him develop. And how do we do that? By surrounding him with really good players," Roseman said. "Players continue to grow -- that's a huge part of developing. They grow. How they are in their second year is not how they're going to be in Year 4, 5, 6, 7, and they're also products of the people around them. That's on us to continue to build this team."

The Eagles have three first-round picks in April's NFL draft (Nos. 15, 16 and 19 overall). That draft capital, coupled with the interest they showed in Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans heading into this season, fueled speculation that Philadelphia might try to acquire an established veteran quarterback in a trade such as Watson, Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers.

In his first year as a starter, the 23-year-old Hurts completed 61.3% of his passes for 3,144 yards with 16 touchdowns to nine interceptions while leading all quarterbacks with 784 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. 

Russell Wilson wants to explore his options during the offseason, sources tell NFL Media.

Wilson has not demanded a trade and it is unclear if he plans to do so. In one of his final press conferences of the year, Wilson said his hope is to stay in Seattle.

Those close to Wilson say he wants to investigate other destinations that would potentially put him in a better position to win another Super Bowl.

General manager John Schneider, head coach Pete Carroll and owner Jody Allen met late this week to discuss the future in their regular end-of-season meeting.

Last year, Wilson's agent made public four teams he would consider a trade to.

Derek Carr said he would stay out of direct conversations when it came to his future with the Las Vegas Raiders. He has one year remaining on the five-year, $125 million extension he signed in 2017.

He said his agent and the Raiders have a good relationship.

"Lord knows there's been a lot of things to communicate about, right?" Carr said. "When the time comes, I never want a face-to-face. I'm going to play quarterback, but my message will be talked about.

"I'm not going to go to dinner and say, 'We have to do something.' I'm not that guy. I'll let my voice be heard, but in a different way."

Andrew Berry said Tuesday that the Cleveland Browns "fully expect" Baker Mayfield to be their starting quarterback in 2022 and "bounce back" after struggling through an injury-plagued season.

"It's easy to forget at this point of the year what we've seen with Baker over the past several years," Berry said. "We've been with Baker for a long period -- we know his work ethic, we know his drive, we've seen him [be] a talented passer in this league, and we're looking forward to him getting healthy and continue to make improvements."

Mayfield finished 27th in the league in QBR.

The Carolina Panthers have no intention of trading away Christian McCaffrey after another injury plagued season.

"There was a report back in November that we were actively trying to trade him, and I told him that was not true,'' general manager Scott Fitterer said Monday of his exit interview with McCaffrey following the Panthers' 5-12 season. "What I did tell him was, 'Hey, listen, I'll take any call. Call and make any offer you want.'

"'That doesn't mean we'll do it. That doesn't mean we're shopping you.' I look at Christian as a foundation piece on this team. We're a better team when he's on the field. He's one of the elite players in the NFL.''

The Panthers may use McCaffrey more as a slot receiver moving forward to keep him healthy. 

McCaffrey is the NFL's highest paid running back at $16 million per year.

Bobby Wagner says he has "a lot of optimism" that he'll return to the Seattle Seahawks next season.

Last week Wagner acknowledged an uncertain future with the franchise.

The Seahawks' defensive captain and longest-tenured player (along with Russell Wilson) said there's "obviously" going to be some changes on the heels of Seattle suffering double-digit losses for the first time since 2009 and added, "Whether or not I'm part of those changes, I don't know."

On Wednesday, Wagner was asked if that uncertainty has given him any more incentive to play Sunday despite a sprained knee.

"Not really, because in my mind I don't feel like this is my last time," he said. "I don't feel like this is my last time putting on a Seahawks uniform. I don't feel like this is my last time doing that. I understand there is a business side to this, but there is a lot of optimism on my end that I'll be back. So I'm not worried about it. Obviously, I can't control everything. I can only control my part. And my part on this is I feel like I love this city. I love this team. I love the Seahawks. So I always wanted to be a part of a franchise's good times and bad times and every time. So this is a team that I would love to be able to be a part of for a very, very long time.

"So on my end, that's where I'm at, that I'm a Seahawk until they tell me I'm not. So that's my mindset. So I don't see it as that was my last game or this next game could be my next game."

There is a feeling across the NFL that Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson will not be together again with the Seattle Seahawks next season.

There are many directions the organization can go after this season, its worst in more than a decade. There was constant speculation last offseason that Wilson could be traded, and multiple sources expect the same level of speculation this offseason.

Carroll is under contract through 2025 and is the oldest head coach in the NFL.

Some sources believe John Schneider is open to starting anew with added draft picks, but he also knows the value of a quarterback like Wilson.