As a team that was decimated by injuries in 2020, and has already had their fair share in 2021, Thursday provided more bad news.
Star tight end George Kittle showed up on the injury report, with a calf issue serious enough that he did not practice for the second day in a row. That’s enough to make any 49ers fan nervous ahead of Sunday’s matchup vs. Seattle.
General manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Thursday and provided some clarity, saying that while the injury isn’t serious, Kittle is questionable for Sunday.
“With George, you guys see it, I think we all see it. He pours so much into each and every play, and he plays a lot,” Lynch said on the “Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks Show“. “I think the combination of that, at times, he sells out. He’s got a calf that’s a little tight, and he’s working through that. But George usually rings the bell and shows up, and you can’t take that for granted.
“We’re hopeful that we have him, and we certainly need him. He’s a tremendous player, as we saw the other night and have seen so many times.”
Kittle is known for being extremely tough, but also for playing with a reckless abandon that can leave him dinged up. It’s a combination that can lead to situations where Kittle plays at less than 100 percent even if it’s not in his best interest. Lynch says the 49ers will be mindful to not throw him out there if they don’t feel he’s ready.
“I think it’s always kind of a collective effort,” Lynch responded. “We’ll never put him out there when he could do harm and we feel like we’re in a situation where he’s compromised or whatever, we won’t do that. I think that’s why he’s missed the last couple of days of practice.
“We’re hopeful to get him out there doing some things tomorrow, but George is a hard guy to keep off the field. We’ll always do right by him and do right by our team by helping him with that call, but we also know him well enough that his instinct is always going to be to play.”
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Listen to the full interview below.