Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
In May, a frustrated Javon Kinlaw lashed out at Sports Illustrated reporter Grant Cohn
after calling into his video podcast. Equally frustrated teammates came out in defense of Kinlaw's actions. Things escalated to the point where San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch had to sit down with his player and the media member to hash out the situation.
Kinlaw's teammate, tight end
George Kittle, joined the
Bussin' with the Boys podcast this week and was asked about the drama that unfolded between Kinlaw and the reporter.
"It just came to a point where [Cohn] had been taking shots at a guy, Javon, who grew up homeless," Kittle shared. "He grew up having to use cold water for showers. He had to go to a faucet, not in his house, for a shower. Stuff like that. He had an unreal upbringing and made it to the NFL.
"He got hurt. He had a knee thing, and he hasn't been able to play to the level that he wants to play. He's a fantastic player. And throughout the whole season last year, he's on IR, and [Cohn] would tweet at him and just s--t on him. During the season, there's nothing he can do, and he'd be like, 'Oh hey, another week of Javon Kinlaw not playing' or some s--t like that."
Kinlaw appeared in just four games last season, his second in the NFL, before having to undergo season-ending knee surgery.
"And it's just like, 'C'mon, the kid's out,'" Kittle continued. "If you want to [say], 'George Kittle, you dropped the ball, and you guys lost the game,' sure, dude. Give me all the s--t in the world for that. But don't go at a guy where there's nothing he can do about a situation. He's trying every day to get healthy, so leave him alone.
"Kinlaw saw him at the first OTAs open practice. He confronted him a little bit, and it kind of went off on social media. You never want to do something like that because it always gets spun. You could look like not a great person. But Kinlaw's fantastic. He's an incredible teammate. He's incredibly nice.
"He just deals with s--t different than I would. But hey, that's the NFL. Guys come up from different livelihoods, and they deal with s--t differently, and that's just what it is. And I think, ultimately, [the situation] got kind of ironed out, and we're all right, but it is what it is. That guy wants to take shots at players that can't participate, and that's what he wants to make his money off of, go for it, man. It's your cup of tea."
The San Francisco 49ers are among the 25 teams kicking off their offseason workout program today. However, don't expect to see players facing off against each other on the practice field for the next couple of weeks. The program's early portion, dubbed "Phase One," spans two weeks and includes limited activities such as meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.
The second phase of the offseason program extends for three weeks and includes on-field workouts for individual or group instruction and drills. After that, teams can hold up to 10 days of organized team activities on the practice field.
As the 49ers continue to negotiate a contract extension for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, it's important to note that all of these sessions are
(Episode 330) — Legendary columnist Mike Silver joins the show to discuss the Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors and trade value, priorities in the secondary, Mike's book, and more! You can read Mike's work at the San Francisco Chronicle.
The audio for the show is embedded above. Remember to subscribe!
You can watch the interview below.
You can listen to the latest "No Huddle Podcast" episode above, from
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
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
