The 49ers held out hope tight end George Kittle would be able to debut in Week 1 despite a groin injury the Monday before the opener. He missed that game, but they again held out hope he’d play in Week 2 and again he was absent. Now head coach Kyle Shanahan is expressing optimism that Kittle will return for Week 3 when the 49ers face the Broncos on Sunday Night Football.
Shanahan was less optimistic after Week 1, saying he was waiting to see if Kittle was on the field for practice. Monday in a conference call with reporters Shanahan indicated Kittle’s Week 2 absence was a precaution aimed at having him available for Week 3.
“Yeah, he was close, that’s why we took it that far,” Shanahan said of Kittle playing in Week 2. “But, obviously he wasn’t able to go and I’m glad we didn’t because I think he could have got through the game, but there was going to be a higher risk of him re-injuring that. To be able to pull that game off and still get a win, I’m very glad with the decision we made and that should give him a much better chance to be good to go this week.”
It sounded like the 49ers sat Kittle in Week 1 with his long-term health in mind, and now Shanahan is making it sound like that was the plan in Week 2 as well.
The 49ers managed to get a win over Seattle without their star TE, but Kittle is simply too important for San Francisco to continue having him sit out. If he can be back at full strength for Sunday night against the Broncos, the 49ers offense could start hitting its stride in a way it can’t when their Swiss Army knife TE is in the game.
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