Every NFL team has played at least one preseason game now, so it’s time to take stock and spotlight the biggest emerging storylines across the league. Here’s the latest on every NFC West team.
Starting with the Hall of Fame Game last week and continuing with a full slate of preseason games Thursday through Saturday, NFL fans got their first taste of live action since the Super Bowl.
And if third-string quarterbacks balling out is what gets one revved up for the season, then the start of preseason play delivered in a big way.
While most of the league’s stars are mere spectators this time of year, there is still plenty to evaluate and learn from these games — and also the continuing developments from training camps.
As we go division by division, let’s dive into the top performances and most compelling storylines from every NFC West.
Arizona Cardinals
Hall of Fame Game: 33-30 L vs. Carolina Panthers
Preseason Week 1 Result: 27-14 W at Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday
Top Performer: Running back Jeremiyah Love
After rookie quarterback Carson Beck stole the headlines in the Hall of Fame Game (15-of-19 passes for 188 yards, 1 TD and 0 INTs), another rookie took the spotlight this week.
Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft and the highest-selected running back since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 to the Giants in 2018, was held out of the first preseason game but unleashed in this one.
He rushed 11 times for 58 yards and caught 3 passes for 14 yards.
But it came at a real cost. Love sustained a high-ankle sprain in the game, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. That now puts his availability for the Cardinals’ Sept. 13 season opener in some jeopardy.
The Cardinals have plenty of running back depth with veterans James Conner and Tyler Allgeier, but much of the optimism for the team is centered around Love.
Beck, meanwhile, was held out of the second preseason game as a precaution due to a rib injury. Veteran QB Gardner Minshew, signed this offseason to back up Jacoby Brissett, handled the bulk of the work while completing 14 of 16 passes for 101 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs.
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: QB Jacoby Brissett learning the offense
Brissett isn’t new to the Cardinals, taking over as the starter for the bulk of last season after Kyler Murray’s injury, but the Arizona offense is new in 2026 with head coach Mike LaFleur taking over after serving as the Rams’ offensive coordinator the last three years.
So it was significant that Brissett missed OTAs and minicamp — prime opportunities to build cohesion in the new offense — while awaiting a new contract that got done just before the start of camp.
But he looked just fine in his preseason debut Thursday, completing 5 of 5 passes for 44 yards and a TD.
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Love isn’t the only high draft pick ailing for Arizona. Offensive guard Chase Bisontis, the No. 34 overall pick out of Texas A&M, sustained a torn MCL in his knee during the game vs. the Raiders. He’ll miss most if not all of the season.
Los Angeles Rams
Preseason Week 1 Result: 20-12 W at Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday
Top Performer: Quarterback Ty Simpson
Ty Simpson, the Rams’ first-round draft pick, may not have a role in his rookie season with reigning MVP Matthew Stafford at the reins and Stetson Bennett expected to serve as the team’s backup QB. But the former Alabama star sure made the most of his preseason debut.
Simpson, the No. 13 overall pick, completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs vs. the Chiefs.
The Rams gave the rookie a lot of comfortable short and intermediate passes (his longest completion was 23 yards), but Simpson looked poised, mostly on target and did zip a few throws into tighter windows.
Bennett started the game, completing 4 of 6 passes for 38 yards over two series before Simpson played the rest of the game.
“I thought he took what the defense gave him,” coach Sean McVay said. “I thought he read the plays out, read with his feet. I thought he did a really good job overall. … I thought he kept the ball in play. That’s the biggest thing, is keeping the ball in play.”
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: Aaron Donald Watch continues
Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald has yet to announce if he’s officially coming out of retirement to re-join the Rams, but it continues to trend that way as he worked out for the team again Saturday — the second time this month.
“What I don’t want is to sit here and do is put a timeline on it, then something comes up where I have to push it back,” McVay, per ESPN. “… So, if he puts himself in a position where he says yes or no, I think he has earned the right to have clarity on that. We are not at that point quite yet.
“I am hopeful that it will be sooner rather than later, but I also want to respect when he does feel that clarity will come, I think there is a chance we will be closer to that than not. But again, I don’t want to say too much or put some sort of invisible deadline on something that doesn’t exist in my mind for him.”
Donald, the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle, last played for the Rams in 2023, retiring after 10 seasons in which he made the Pro Bowl every year and earned first-team All-Pro honors eight times. Buzz about a potential comeback originated soon after the Rams traded for reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in June.
San Francisco 49ers
Preseason Week 1 Result: 19-13 L to Tennessee Titans on Thursday
Top Performer: Wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling
De’Zhaun Stribling was the 49ers’ first pick in the draft this year, coming off the board at the start of the second round, and he seized his first opportunity to showcase himself in game action with a team-high 7 catches for 63 yards on 8 targets Thursday.
All of those receptions, including a 32-yard contested catch, came in the first half of his sterling San Francisco debut.
Even with Ricky Pearsall undergoing season-ending knee surgery, the 49ers have plenty of options at wide receiver after signing former Buccaneers star Mike Evans, fellow veteran Christian Kirk and then a late addition to bring Deebo Samuel back to San Francisco after a year away with the Washington Commanders. Demarcus Robinson, entering his 11th NFL season and second with the 49ers, is another depth option. (Kirk has been sidelined most of camp with a calf strain.)
But Stribling, who was the only one of those receivers to play in the preseason opener, figures to be a big part of the 49ers’ plans. The former Ole Miss star missed a week of camp with an injury of his own, but he looked back to full speed vs. the Titans.
“I thought he struggled a little bit on the first drive, but I think he got three drives after that,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “It seemed like he executed all the stuff that went to him and I liked how his hands looked out there and played physical.”
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: Waiting on injured stars to return
As seems to always be the case, one of the biggest prevailing storylines in 49ers camp concerns the status of two star players recovering from injury — edge rusher Nick Bosa and tight end George Kittle.
Bosa, working back from the torn ACL that ended his 2025 season, hasn’t practice since Aug. 3 due to soreness and tendinitis in that knee.
Kittle, meanwhile, has been on an aggressive pursuit to be ready for Week 1 of the season despite tearing his Achilles tendon in a January playoff game. He hasn’t yet been cleared for full practice while working off to the side on his own in camp, but he believes he still has a chance to be ready for the season opener.
“I have a chance,” Kittle said Sunday speaking to 49ers beat reporters. “We’re running around a lot, hitting top speeds. Hopefully, we’re back in pads practicing sooner than later. Just trying to check the boxes and not be a dumbass.”
The 49ers open the season Sept. 10 in Australia vs. the Los Angeles Rams.
Seattle Seahawks
Preseason Week 1 Result: 17-7 L to Seattle Seahawks on Saturday
Top Performer: Running back George Holani
This is more by default, as the Seahawks did very little in their preseason opener to merit a spotlight — especially offensively with none of the team’s star players participating.
So the most notable was George Holani, the third-year undrafted running back who will have a role early on with Zach Charbonnet working back from the torn ACL he sustained in the playoffs. With first-round rookie Jadarian Price being limited in camp and held out of the first preseason game with “lower body soreness,” Holani led the backfield with 12 carries for 42 yards.
The Seahawks trust him as a pass-blocker, which is another big reason Holani is likely to have a meaningful role at least until Charbonnet returns sometime in the middle or back half of the season.
Former Packers backup Emanuel Wilson is also on the roster and limited by a hamstring injury, which kept him out of the preseason game. But Holani looks to have the edge on Wilson regardless.
Emerging Training Camp Storyline: Seahawks add former first-round cornerback to roster
The Detroit Lions released cornerback Terrion Arnold after he was arrested in June while facing eight felony charges tied to kidnapping and robbery in Tampa, Florida, but the 2024 first-round pick is already getting a second chance after agreeing to a deal with the Seahawks this week.
It remains to seen what repercussions Arnold will face either criminally or in the way of NFL punishment. His next court date is Oct. 5.
“We feel really strongly about our locker room and our team, and we had a great visit with Terrion,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said, per ESPN. “Obviously we knew him throughout the [predraft process in 2024]. I referenced the folks that have been in his corner throughout the whole process as well, and we respect those people. We’re not going to ignore those folks that we really respect and have a strong opinion about it as well.
“When you put all those things together, it felt like it was a good opportunity for the team.”
The Seahawks have returning starters back at both outside corner spots in star Devon Witherspoon, who just became the highest-paid cornerback in history with a four-year, $132-million extension this week (including $101 million guaranteed), and Josh Jobe.
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