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San Francisco 49ers fans got a bit of a scare on Sunday. No, I'm not talking about the game itself, which was an emotional rollercoaster. The Niners ended up with the win in overtime. However, seeing the team's All-Pro tight end,
George Kittle, a little hobbled in the fourth quarter was concerning.
Kittle remained in the game and continued making big plays in overtime. The tight end led the team with 151 receiving yards and a touchdown on 13 receptions. It was his second consecutive game of 150-or-more receiving yards and his fourth time reaching that mark during his career.
But if Kittle were injured, that would hurt the 49ers' playoff chances. After the game, the tight end spoke with reporters and assured everyone that he was fine.
"It was more of an aggravation," Kittle said. "This turf is like playing on cement. So that's kind of what it was. When you have catches, and you get tackled, you just get sore. I mean, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. It's excessive soreness, I would say."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Kittle's discomfort late in the game.
"Yeah, Kittle goes until he can't," Shanahan responded, per Kirk Larrabee. "You could tell a little bit on that last drive, I think is when it started acting [up]. I want to say it was the last drive of the fourth quarter is when it started acting up more.
"He came out for a couple of plays, made it back in for the corner route that he caught at the end to get us into field goal range, then just him on the last drive battling through that. Hopefully, he's alright, but we'll see tomorrow."
Kittle's quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, knows that everyone is dealing with something at this point in the season. But with the postseason around the corner and the 49ers still fighting for a playoff spot, players will have to push through if they can.
"[Kittle] was fighting through it tonight," Garoppolo told reporters. "That turf wasn't very friendly for us, but he was fighting through it, some other guys were fighting through injuries."
Linebacker
Fred Warner appears to be fine, too, so that is more good news on another 49ers star player. He briefly exited the game with what appeared to be a leg injury. However, he was able to return.
"Yeah, it was one of those situations where I think I just stepped on [
Talanoa Hufanga]'s foot or somebody's foot," Warner said. "And so my ankle just kind of rolled a funny way. The initial feeling was like, 'Whoa.' It was more like a scary-thing-type deal. And then once I knew I was fine, we just taped it up, and I was good to go back out."
The news of Arik Armstead's departure from the San Francisco 49ers after nine seasons with the team shocked linebacker Fred Warner. Armstead, a former first-round pick, was an impactful force on the football field. However, his availability over the last two seasons forced the 49ers to reevaluate his contract, and when his salary could not be significantly reduced, the two sides parted ways.
"Huge surprise," Warner said of learning that Armstead was being released. "Ever since I've been here, we called him the blueprint for how to be a Niner. That was the longest-tenured Niner that's been here and a guy that's done it right through and through."
Warner has been in the NFL long enough to understand how the league works. Over the years, he's watched several
George Kittle made his sentiments clear in a recent conversation about his teammate, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. The tight end emphasized that he couldn't picture the San Francisco 49ers without Aiyuk and spoke highly of him in a discussion with Fox News Digital's Scott Thompson.
Throughout the offseason, Kittle has had several conversations with Aiyuk and empathizes with his situation. Reflecting on his own contract negotiation in 2020 before reaching an agreement with the 49ers, Kittle offered his best advice to Aiyuk: "Hey, be patient."
Kittle added, "It's just kind of the way the Niners do things. I didn't
NFL Communications has officially announced the "NFL legends and active players" who will announce selections during Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Representing the San Francisco 49ers will be former defensive tackle Anthony "Spice" Adams, who spent four seasons with the team and nine in the NFL.
San Francisco selected Adams out of Penn State in the second round (No. 57 overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft.
The NFL's full announcement is below.
In the NFL's continuous effort to connect the game's greats with the next generation of stars, NFL Legends and active players will add to the excitement of the 2024 NFL Draft by announcing various selections and participating in festivities in Detroit.
Pro Football Hall of Famers Isaac
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
