SANTA CLARA, CA - OCTOBER 21: George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers reacts after a play against the Los Angeles Rams during their NFL game at Levi's Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)Things couldn’t have gone worse for the San Francisco 49ers this season – a season they’re just halfway through. But star tight end George Kittle’s comments on his injury timeline provided Niners fans a much-needed laugh on Tuesday.
The San Francisco 49ers are a season removed from winning the NFC Championship and being just a few plays away from winning the Super Bowl. But ever since Patrick Mahomes’ heroic performance and Chiefs’ comeback to win the biggest game in sports, the 49ers haven’t been able to rid themselves of bad luck.
San Francisco’s been hit the hardest with the injury bug in the NFL this season. The organization received more bad news on the injury front this week concerning two offensive starters in Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo (high ankle sprain).
The 49ers expect Kittle to miss eight weeks because of a broken bone in his foot, per NFL insider Adam Schefter. As we’ve come to expect from the superstar tight end, Kittle thinks he can come back much sooner. In fact, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan, Kittle said he’ll be back on the field in two weeks.
49ers’ HC Kyle Shanahan on George Kittle’s injury timeline: “They told me eight weeks. Kittle says two, but that's how he rolls. That's why he'll go on IR and if it's better than what they're saying, he’ll have a chance to come back this year, but eight weeks is eight weeks.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 3, 2020
As much as NFL and 49ers fans would love to see George Kittle return in as little as two weeks, it’s not going to happen.
Kyle Shanahan is placing his star tight end on the injured reserve. There’s always a chance he could end up returning later on this season.
Realistically, the 49ers may prefer Kittle sit out the rest of the season as the team is already looking ahead to 2021.
