All-Pro tight end George Kittle is going to come back from his foot injury and play against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday despite the 49ers being eliminated from postseason contention, the team announced Thursday.
It’s about pride for Kittle, and clearly he’s not giving credence to the ideas it’s unwise to risk injury in a lost season or San Francisco should try to lose to get a higher draft pick. The final two games are against the Cardinals and Seahawks, two divisional foes that have dealt the 49ers losses earlier this season.
“I’m coming back because I have a very sour taste in my mouth,” Kittle said over Zoom from Arizona Thursday. “I hate losing football games and I hate when I don’t perform at a high level. So ending on an injury is not very fun.
“So the fact that I get two opportunities, especially against division opponents, to let them know that I’m still here and I will be for multiple years to come, I’m really excited about that to get this chance to play for the next two weeks.”
Kittle fractured the cuboid bone in his foot during the Nov. 1 loss in Seattle. He began practicing before last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys where he worked primarily on the scout team. He was integrated back with the starting offense this week and looked good enough to head coach Kyle Shanahan that he didn’t hesitate to activate Kittle for Saturday.
“He’s probably one of the healthiest guys we have right now, the freshest,” Shanahan said. “(He) had two good weeks of practice, feels great after it. So we wouldn’t put him out at all if there was any risk of re-injuring this or it wasn’t healed.”
Shanahan was asked multiple times this week about the risk involved in playing Kittle. Shanahan said he wanted to set the right example for other players and he doesn’t want Kittle to get special treatment.
“If someone’s 100 percent healthy, I can’t look the rest of the team in the eye and tell them they have to play, but George doesn’t. So, that’s just part of having a team and part of treating people the right way,” said Shanahan.
The conversation between the head coach and tight end was brief when it came down to making the decision.
“He asked me if I wanted to play, and I said, ‘Hell yes.’ And he said, ‘Sounds good.’ That was our conversation,” said Kittle, who will be on a limited snap count.
Kittle said he’ll likely have to use the oxygen tanks on the sideline Saturday because he’s not yet in football shape. He was unable to do any conditioning while recovering from the foot injury before he was cleared to begin running only a few weeks ago.
“Really the only way you can get in shape to play football is to actually play football,” Kittle said. “As much as you practice, as many gassers you want to run, (300-yard sprints), whatever it is, you’re really not in shape until you actually play the game.”
Kittle will be back on the field with his former college roommate, quarterback C.J. Beathard, who is getting the start because Nick Mullens is expected to have surgery to repair the UCL in his throwing elbow, more commonly known as Tommy John Surgery.
Kittle and Beathard and long-time friends that have been playing on the same team for nine straight seasons dating back to their college years at Iowa. That could change soon because Beathard is an unrestricted free agent after the season.
“I know how excited he is and I know he’s very motivated and inspired to play. And you’re going to see a side of C.J. that I think I expect to see from him every time I see him take the field. I think he’s going to have a lot of fun out there,” Kittle said.
