The San Francisco 49ers aren’t only wondering about the status of star DE Nick Bosa for their Week One game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’re also keeping an eye on TE George Kittle.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch, Kittle is dealing with a groin injury that could keep him out of the team’s season opener.
From Branch:
“San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle could miss the regular-season opener with a groin injury for the second straight year.
The All-Pro tight end remained sidelined Monday when the team returned to practice after a three-day break in preparation for Sunday’s opener at Pittsburgh. Kittle has participated in just two practices in more than three weeks, none since he played 12 snaps in the preseason finale…”
Kittle suffered what 49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan called an “abductor strain” in early-to-mid August. Since, as Branch notes, Kittle has not seen the field a lot, though he was deemed healthy enough to play in the team’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now, his status for Sunday seems to be up in the air.
One of the NFL’s biggest matchup problems, Kittle caught 11 touchdown passes on just 60 receptions last season. He missed the first two games of 2022 due to a groin injury, though it’s unknown if this new issue is in any way related. The 49ers will release their first injury report on Wednesday.
Without him, the 49ers would lean on their talented trio of RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Deebo Samuel, and WR Brandon Aiyuk. It does look likely QB Brock Purdy, injured in the NFC Championship Game a year ago, will start for San Francisco. The team also has questions about the health of starting kicker Jake Moody, signing former Steeler Matthew Wright to the practice squad. Per Branch, Moody was kicking in some capacity today.
Elsewhere, Bosa is still holding out while looking for a long-term deal that’ll likely make him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Even if he suits up Sunday, he could be on a snap count. Based on the reporting, the same could be said for Kittle.
The Steelers won’t release their first official injury report until Wednesday, but they appear to be in good shape health-wise, getting through the summer with very few long-term injuries and only a handful of minor bumps and bruises. OG Nate Herbig and DL Larry Ogunjobi are the two names to watch on Wednesday’s report.
Pittsburgh and San Francisco square off Sunday at 1 PM/EST as Acrisure Stadium.
