The San Francisco 49ers had to navigate Week 11 without All-Pro tight end George Kittle. It sounds like they may get him back in Week 12 when they visit the Green Bay Packers.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday spoke with reporters in a conference call and had a positive update on the superstar tight end who was out of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks because of a hamstring injury.
“He should practice on Wednesday,” Shanahan said. “I know it was close yesterday, so I think he should be good for practice on Wednesday.”
Kittle sustained what Shanahan called ‘hamstring irritation’ during the team’s Week 10 game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The head coach sounded optimistic in the lead up to Week 11 that Kittle would be able to play. The TE missed Wednesday’s practice before getting limited sessions in Thursday and Friday. He was officially questionable before getting ruled out 90 minutes before kickoff when the team announced its inactives.
The 49ers struggled on offense without Kittle. They averaged 4.9 yards per play in their least efficient outing of the year. In the passing game they badly missed Kittle as a safety valve and explosive play creator. Their longest pass play of the game was 22 yards and only Jauan Jennings had more than 27 receiving yards.
Urgency is even higher now for the 49ers after Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, and getting a player like Kittle back for their showdown with the Packers would be a huge boost for an offense that needs it.
