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While everyone proceeds to write off the San Francisco 49ers following a 43-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, tight end
George Kittle was excited to get back to work this week and prove critics wrong. The team hasn't won a home game this season and has the 4-1 Los Angeles Rams coming into town.
Kittle has no shortage of confidence in his teammates and coaching staff. He feels the 49ers could be on the verge of turning things around, and that starts with a good week of practice, which will, hopefully, lead to a winning performance on Sunday night.
"We had guys that came in today; I thought we had our best practice of the year today," Kittle told reporters today. "Guys were locked in. Our offense was humming. The O-line looked good. We had a great run period. The thing that I love about our team is we're hungry and we just want to play better, and we know that we're not playing at our best. We don't want to be 2-3, and we know that we're not playing at the level that we want to be playing at.
"I think this week has been really good for us in watching the film and trying to get better from it. I think we've definitely taken a step forward."
Kittle attributes some of the mental errors to the lack of a typical offseason, especially for the younger players. Of course, that isn't an excuse. Every team is dealing with that.
Injuries can't be an excuse either. Every team is dealing with those too. Although, the number of injuries that have impacted the 49ers does seem a bit excessive.
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All the 49ers can do is focus on what they can control and work hard to improve.
"You can definitely get better," Kittle said. "Like I said, we have gotten better. ... That's what football is. If you put your mind to it, if you put your passion in it, if you put your heart in it, you definitely come out better. I feel like I've gotten better this week. Obviously, I wasn't happy with my performance last week or even the week before that."
Kittle might have been modest on that last one. He caught 15 passes on his 15 targets for 183 yards and a score against the Philadelphia Eagles. Of course, the 49ers lost the game.
"How you get better is game reps," Kittle added. "You've got to start with it in practice, obviously, but the more you play, the better you get, and I know that we took a step forward."
Kittle still has a lot of faith in the 49ers, and it doesn't sound like the Revenge Tour is canceled or even postponed. Even with only two wins through five games, the tight end believes this roster can still make the playoffs.
"I think the biggest thing that I've seen is just the guys we have in the locker room and our coaching staff," Kittle explained. "I believe in our coaching staff. I think coach (Kyle) Shanahan is incredible at what he does. He game plans so well, and he puts guys in positions to succeed.
"And then the locker room, you have a group of guys who want to get better every single day. You don't have guys that are jumping off the ship. You don't have guys that are pointing the finger at each other. You also have guys that we do hold each other accountable. You have conversations like, 'Hey, why do we suck?' Or, 'Why did we suck on this play?' And we talk about it. We figure it out.
"You don't have guys saying, 'That was your fault. That wasn't my fault.' And so we're all heading in the right direction. We're going in the same direction. And I know we haven't played out best football the last two weeks, but, like I said, we did take a huge step forward this week, I believe.
"When you've got young guys at wide receiver — we're relying heavily on Deebo (Samuel) and Brandon (Aiyuk) — and they're just going to get better every single week they get to play football. When I see those guys go out there and they make those plays, and they have the confidence in themselves, it makes me excited, and they're a big reason why I believe we can turn this thing around and win some football games."
When asked about the possibility of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk not being on the San Francisco 49ers roster on Friday morning, general manager John Lynch responded, "I wouldn't anticipate that."
Lynch assured reporters that signing Aiyuk to a long-term extension is a priority, stating, "And our wish is that he's here and a part of the Niners for the rest of his career. We're working through that."
While Lynch didn't elaborate on the conversations occurring behind closed doors, Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that a potential trade remains a
According to Sports Illustrated contributor Noah Strackbein, who writes for "All Steelers" on the network, there's a level of confidence within the Pittsburgh Steelers organization that they can strike a deal for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk—and at a bargain rate.
"According to a team source, the Steelers and 49ers trade talks are real," Strackbein wrote. "While nothing is imminent, they 'would be surprised if it didn't happen.' But it all comes down to compensation, and Pittsburgh isn't willing to budge much on price."
While it seems unlikely that the 49ers would part ways with Aiyuk for anything less than a first-round draft
Last week, it was reported that the San Francisco 49ers planned to host former Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips on a pre-draft visit. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo confirms that the visit will take place during the upcoming week, which marks the final opportunity for such visits to occur.
Phillips will also meet with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans this week.
Adding a noteworthy tidbit to the social media post, Garafolo mentions, "A likely second-round pick, though some evaluators have first-round grades on
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
