George Kittle is confident that the San Francisco 49ers will rebound from last season's injury-plagued six-win campaign. It wasn't long ago that the team was in the Super Bowl, and much of that roster remains intact. Most feel that the Niners' 2019 season was an aberration and that a return to the playoffs is in store for this year's squad.
Kittle joined Good Morning Football today and shared why the media should not overlook the 2021 49ers.
"I don't know if you guys saw this, but Nick Bosa is coming back, and we re-signed Trent Williams," Kittle explained. "So those two guys are pretty good at football, from what I remember. They're pretty decent. And on the opposite side of Nick Bosa, you've got Dee Ford, you've got Arik Armstead."
Bosa is returning from a season-ending ACL injury suffered during Week 2. Offseason workout and rehab videos have appeared online of the young pass rusher. He looks on track to be the same Bosa that everyone remembers, the one who earned the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award during his rookie campaign.
Kittle shared that he was shocked that Bosa was not listed recently among ESPN's top pass rushers. The tight end has said that he considers Bosa to be the second-best NFL player behind Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams.
"People tend to forget when you take a year off, but it is what it is," Kittle said.
Ford appeared in just one game last season. He was sidelined by neck and back injuries. While there is no guarantee that he will be available this season, the 49ers remain hopeful of getting him back.
"We bring back our All-Pro linebacker, Fred Warner," Kittle continued. "The two young guys outside of him, who have been learning it, had great OTAs. And they're bringing back four starters in the secondary — five starters in the secondary. Our defense is scary.
"It was shown in the Super Bowl, if you can't move the ball against the defense, you can't put up points, and defense wins championships. At the end of the day, like I said, we signed Trent Williams back, we're got [Raheem Mostert], the surfer, back in the backfield, and we've got some decent wide receivers.
"And I think we have an OK tight end, so I think we're just going to roll with it, and we're just going to have some fun with it. I think (head coach Kyle) Shanahan's just going to enjoy playing with all the toys that he's got."
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