Deommodore Lenoir is keeping it cool this time.
The 49ers cornerback, who had some beef with Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba last season, took a more measured approach ahead of the matchup, even with San Francisco getting ready for a defense-heavy showdown and possibly doing it without a key receiver. As Nick Wagoner noted on X, Lenoir stayed mostly diplomatic when asked about Smith-Njigba.
“#49ers CB Deommodore Lenoir was (mostly) diplomatic when asked about the Seahawks and potential matchup with WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba. ‘I look forward to every matchup,’ Lenoir said.
‘I wouldn't try to put this one more than any other. He's a great player, much respect, but winning between the lines is a competition.
Always.’ ”
Lenoir repeated that same tone when NBC Sports asked him about the challenge.
“It’s always an honor to play against the Super Bowl-winning team, and just be able to see where you at as a team,” Lenoir said. “This game is about competition. We gotta compete.
“I look forward to every matchup. I wouldn't try to put this one more than the other.
He's a great player. Much respect.
Between the lines, it’s competition. Always.”
That’s a noticeable shift from last season’s meetings, when Smith-Njigba gave the 49ers problems. In the first matchup, he caught nine passes for 124 yards.
In the Week 18 rematch, he added six receptions for 84 yards. He didn’t find the end zone in either game.
Still, the 49ers are carrying plenty of memory into this one. Seattle’s 41-6 playoff win over San Francisco last season is not something they’ve forgotten, even if they aren’t saying it out loud. Malik Mustapha made that clear to The Athletic.
“It’s unspoken,” safety Malik Mustapha said. “Everyone knows what it is.
Everyone knows the mindset going into it. We don’t like them, and we have to go after it and get the job done.”
Kyle Shanahan, though, pushed back on tying this game too tightly to what happened before.
“I see two totally different teams,” he said. “I know we’re a much different team now, and I don’t like to correlate many things to the previous year.”
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