I saw this on page 2-8 of the Z490-i Manual:
"Ensure to remove the pre- installed M.2 rubber pad screw before installing your double sided M.2 storage device." Not sure if this applies to the Samsung 970 EVO's.
Yes for the double sided ones you’d want to remove it, in my case the 1TB 970 evo plus is just single sided and the bend was there regardless if the pad was removed or not.