49ers News: George Kittle Ahead of Schedule
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a torn Achilles, according to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, and there is a chance he could be ready for the start of training camp later this month.
Kittle suffered the injury during San Francisco’s Wild Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles in January. Surgeons described the tear as high and clean, a more favorable location that has helped speed his recovery. Kittle has spent much of the offseason working at home, including time on an anti-gravity treadmill, and began light cutting drills roughly three weeks ago.
“I’m 21 weeks out, and I’m running over 16 miles an hour, so I’m having a great time,” Kittle said. “Single-leg box jumps, we’re cutting again, we’re having some fun.”
The 49ers open the regular season on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, an NFC West rival, in Melbourne, Australia. The Week 1 game will be the NFL’s first regular-season contest in the country. Kittle’s exact availability for that game remains unclear, and a clearer picture should emerge once training camp begins and he faces contact and full practice reps for the first time since the injury.
Kittle turns 33 this fall and is entering his tenth NFL season after being selected in the fifth round out of Iowa in 2017. Last season was limited by injuries across the board, as he appeared in only 11 games and finished with 57 catches for 628 yards and seven touchdowns.
Fantasy managers should temper expectations given the nature of the injury. Betting on a player in his 30s coming off an Achilles tear carries real risk, even with a favorable recovery timeline and encouraging updates so far. For now, Kittle profiles as a talented but injury-prone tight end with legitimate upside if he’s on the field, making him a boom-or-bust option rather than a locked-in weekly starter entering the season.
Training camp will offer the clearest test yet of where Kittle stands physically, and his level of participation over the next several weeks should shape expectations for his Week 1 outlook.
