Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Why 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan would prefer Trey Lance avoid George Kittle after plays
This week, the San Francisco 49ers released a video featuring a mic'd up
George Kittle having fun against the Houston Texans. A lot of fun. The Niners won the Week 17 home matchup 23-7, earning the team's ninth victory of the season.
As always, the 49ers tight end was one of the most excited individuals in the stadium that day. The video shows Kittle encouraging and congratulating his teammates, including rookie quarterback
Trey Lance, who made his first start at Levi's Stadium.
At about the 3:40 mark, you can see an enthusiastic Kittle celebrating a touchdown with his teammates—and being just as physical as he is when the play clock is running.
"You. Yes, yes, yes, you," Kittle yells while pointing at Lance before running over to the quarterback—and including wide receiver
Deebo Samuel in the process. "You're a dog! Good job, Trey! Yes, you f--king dog!"
Then Kittle ran over to his head coach, Kyle Shanahan, and nearly knocked him out. This wasn't an isolated incident. From the looks of the video, Kittle was set to 110 percent the entire game.
Shanahan was asked about Kittle's level of enthusiasm on game days. The coach admits to sometimes feeling in danger when around the fiery tight end.
"I would rather Trey avoid Kittle after plays," Shanahan jokingly told reporters. "I appreciate the encouragement, but Kittle, for some reason, can't control his aggressiveness. Trey definitely can handle it better than me, but I run from Kittle after good things because he will not change how he hits people, no matter what."
On Sunday, Shanahan failed to avoid Kittle and was the recipient of the physical embodiment of the tight end's enthusiasm.
"Whether they have pads on or not, whether they are on your team, he just gets too excited," Shanahan added. "So the best thing is to avoid Kittle in those moments because he is an injury waiting to happen."
Kittle and his teammates hope to bring that same level of enthusiasm to SoFi Stadium on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers can clinch a playoff berth with a win in the regular-season finale. Should that happen, Shanahan is unlikely to criticize how the Kittle celebrates.
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