How healthy is George Kittle, who is returning from a broken bone in his foot? On Wednesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that he'd be surprised if his tight end didn't play on Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Apparently, Kittle may have been able to go against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but the San Francisco 49ers wanted to be extra cautious with their star player.


"George, like he always (does), he attacks everything with such vigor, and he's attacked the rehab incredibly hard," general manager John Lynch told Adam Copeland and Marcus Thompson on KNBR. "It's not as if he just woke up and said, 'OK, I'm going to play.' There's been a buildup that has gone far beyond what you would typically do.

"Last week, frankly, he was cleared, but we all decided, 'You know what? Let's just give him a week of practice.' And as George likes to say, (he) was Scout Team Player of the Week, and you kept looking over there, and there's this guy, 85, on the scout team who is dicing up our defense. It looked really good, and he came out feeling good.

"Then you re-evaluate him again. You take another CT. The bone has healed even more. The doctor felt great about it, said it's your guys' decision. We talked with George.

"We're still going to go through that process. He's got to finish the week. We said, 'Let's go at it at practice. Let's up the demand and see where he is.' So, we'll do that at the end of the week here. We'll make a good decision."

Kittle hasn't played since Week 8 when he sustained his injury. He also missed Weeks 2 and 3 after suffering an MCL sprain, so the tight end has been banged up this season. Kittle has just 37 catches for 474 yards with two touchdowns in his six game appearances.


With San Francisco already eliminated from the playoffs, some wonder why the team would risk putting Kittle back on the football field.

"If he plays, it's only because he's ready to play," Lynch said. "He's eager to play, and we want him to play. He wants to be there for his teammates. We'll always be smart in situations like this, but these guys are paid to play, and George is a competitor and wants to be out there. We'll make the best decision for this franchise."

You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.



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