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The San Francisco 49ers are set to play the Arizona Cardinals this weekend after activating star tight end George Kittle off injured reserve ahead of the game as he had a good week of practice.
Kittle, who's faced a calf injury since Week 1's win against the Detroit Lions, felt his calf get worse after San Francisco's Week 4 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, prompting the 49ers to place him on injured reserve. As a result, Kittle was forced to miss three games(Week 5, Week 7, Week 8), but is set to return against Arizona.
Coming off an injury, what will his role be?
In his weekly interview with NBC Sports Bay Area, Kyle Shanahan addressed that the team will be cautious, given that Kittle's just returned this week, meaning the team may not play him as much as they normally would.
"We usually play him every play when he's 100 percent healthy," Shanahan said during the interview. "He's just coming back. I don't know if it will be as much like that. We've still got a little bit to decide, and you get to see a little bit on game day."
Shanahan believes the 49ers will likely will ease Kittle into the gameplan, depending on how he responds throughout the game, especially given the impact that Kittle has on a defense.
Added Shanahan: "But I think we'll ease him in a little bit and see how the game goes, how he's moving, how he's feeling, communicating with him throughout it. If he's feeling good, it's definitely a lot more tempting to keep him out there."
"I miss football," Kittle told reporters this week. "I haven't hit anybody in a long time. I'm very excited to be out there being able to do that again."
Earlier this week, Shanahan was approached about the topic of managing a tight end's workload, especially one as talented as Kittle, during his daily presser.
"Yeah, I think when you talk about workload for tight ends, it's about training camp, it's about practice, it's about stuff like that," said Shanahan. "When a guy's not healthy, you've always got to do that. But I haven't heard of people managing a tight end, especially one like Kittle. Tight ends go. They play every play usually. Lots of them, you have different personnel groupings, but most tight ends are over 80-percent of the game. But Kittle is always going to play through stuff and go out there when he isn't a hundred percent. And when he's not a hundred percent, that's when you've definitely got to do that. But I've never done that with a tight end before though."
With practices done and Kittle officially elevated off IR, Sunday will be the next indication on Kittle's status, where the 49ers will aim to get back to .500 with a win against the 7-1 Cardinals.
In Kittle's absence, Charlie Woerner has stepped up, coming together as a better blocker, which could be helpful in two-tight end sets tomorrow should the 49ers want Kittle more involved in the passing game.
You can watch the rest of Shanahan's interview with NBC Sports Bay Area here.
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By David Bonilla
22 hrs
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
Breaking down the 49ers drafts under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan
By Marc Adams
Apr 20
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
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By David Bonilla
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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
49ers sign WR Trent Taylor, reuniting with former draft pick
By David Bonilla
Apr 16
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
