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Everyone is pretty excited to see if quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski can recreate some of their old New England Patriots magic with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the other side of the country, though, there is a quarterback-tight end duo that is, perhaps, just getting started.
In his first full NFL season as a starter, quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo hit his All-Pro tight end,
George Kittle, 85 times for 1,053 yards and five trips into the end zone. And that was with Kittle missing two games due to knee and ankle injuries. Oh, and he
played through a torn labrum, too.
Kittle recorded his second consecutive season of 1,000-or-more yards and is already considered to be among the best tight ends in football — if not
the best tight end.
NFL Network's
Good Morning Football on Thursday held a round table that had Kay Adams asking her co-hosts which duo they would take in 2020. Would it be Garoppolo and Kittle or Brady and Gronkowski?
Nate Burleson, Kyle Brandt, and Peter Schrager unanimously selected the West Coast duo.
"I'm not going to disrespect the fact that they've been cooking for a couple of seasons," Burleson said. "George Kittle was a beast last year, and literally had his arm strapped to his body so it wouldn't fall off. So imagine him 100 percent healthy, and now, these guys playing together with another season, catching a little bit more of a rhythm."
Brandt isn't so sure Gronkowski is in game-shape just yet.
"Kittle is already there," he adds. "Kittle's already younger. Kittle is the future. I believe in (head coach Kyle) Shanahan. And as explosive as Tom Brady is at this age, I'm still going to go with the Niners."
Schrager isn't so sure what the Buccaneers are getting yet in Gronkowski. He admits that everyone is excited to see what Brady and Gronkowski do in Tampa Bay.
"But I think Garoppolo and Kittle are in their prime, right now," Schrager adds. "They are clicking. They are ascending still."
Click here to watch the entire discussion from Good Morning Football.
H/t to
Patrick Tulini for the find.
Fans were awaiting word on the status of San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, who appeared to suffer a leg injury before halftime during Sunday's Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Kittle ended up playing in the second half but was held without a catch after his injury.
It sounds like Kittle, at least in his mind, plans to play in Sunday's road game against the New York Jets as the 49ers try to get into the win column.
"Good to go," Kittle texted Mike Silver of NFL Network. "On to New York!"
That's some positive news, assuming the 49ers medical and coaching staffs feel the same way. Fans probably remember that Kittle suffered
The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to open the 2020 season on Sunday by hosting the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury jumped on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday morning and discussed the upcoming matchup between the two division opponents.
Below are some key 49ers-related topics the Cardinals coach hit during the discussion.
On the idea that the Cardinals drafted Isaiah Simmons to stop George Kittle
Kliff Kingsbury: "Yeah, I don't know if there is a George Kittle stopper, from what I've seen. I mean, he's pretty much dominated over the last couple of years, no matter what people have thrown at him, whether it's doubling him or trying to put their best cover guy (on him), whether
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters before Wednesday's practice as his team prepares for its Week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Can you just update us on what you saw or just what LB Fred Warner's status is and just how he's dealt with the last week and then also just how dependable he's been for you guys entering his third season?
"Yeah, Fred's back. He's good to go. I can't talk about too much of his week away, but Fred's been as reliable of a player that we've had. It's great to get him back today. We were obviously pretty nervous about that, but he's good to go and we're very
