George Kittle suffered fractured ribs during 49ers-Patriots game this season

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter of Week 4's game against the New England Patriots at Levi's Stadium. He exited the game with what was initially reported as a rib injury but later returned. Kittle revealed that he fractured his ribs on the play.

"I was playing with cracked ribs, and then that just fractured them completely," Kittle told Kay Adams in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX. "It was super fun. I had a great time."

Kittle wasn't the only one hurt in that game. Linebacker Fred Warner suffered a fractured ankle against the Patriots but played through the injury for the rest of the season, appearing in all 17 games.

"It was a simple [fracture] ... a simple ankle sprain that happened to pull the bone," Warner explained this week. "And it's just one of those nagging things, because injuries, it's like, they're either bad enough to keep you off the field or just good enough so you can keep playing. So it was one of those things where I was good enough to just keep playing and try to work through it."

Injuries plagued the 49ers' 2024 season. The team finished with a 6-11 record and missed the playoffs. Kittle and the team hope the extra offseason rest will lead to a stronger 2025 campaign.

The tight end was also grateful to finally finish a season without needing to recover from an injury.

"I'm very happy that I made it out of the season healthy," Kittle said. "I made it out of the Pro Bowl healthy. I don't have to get surgery this year. And we're gonna roll right into a great year."