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San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch confirmed George Kittle is pushing to play in the season opener despite tearing his Achilles in January.
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“He’s doing really well, and that’s very exciting,” Lynch told reporters at a press conference Saturday. “He’s doing everything possible to be ready for Week 1, and we’re thrilled with his progress.”
The All-Pro tight end will open training camp on the active/physically unable to perform list and won’t practice when the 49ers begin training camp Sunday.
But Kittle said he’s recently taken to running routes and was clocked at 16 mph when running this summer, which is promising for an early-season return given he tore his Achilles in the playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles just over six months ago. Whether he’s available for Week 1 will be determined by how training camp goes.
“I like my chances, I really do. I’m in a great spot.” Kittle said this week on the “Chris Simms Unbuttoned” podcast. “I’m definitely not 100%, but I feel like I’m in a spot where I feel like I can get there Week. 1. I’m excited about it. I’m not going to be stupid with it.”
However, there are added variables the Sept. 10 opener against the Rams, including a long flight to Melbourne, Australia, for the first-ever NFL regular season game. Experts say long flights, like the 18-hour journey the 49ers and Rams will take, are tough on inflammation and blood flow.
“If it’s a stretch to go play in Australia, hey, we won’t do it,” Kittle said. “But I do feel confident that I have a chance to play. So I’m really excited about that. It’s been very easy for me to light a fire every single day. It’s just because I know I have a chance, and I’m just going to attack it every single day and put me in a position to succeed.”
Positive sign for Nick Bosa’s knee injury
Lynch said four players will open training camp on active/PUP list: Kittle, running back Isaac Guerendo, defensive tackle Alfred Collins and defensive end Mykel Williams.
Star pass rusher Nick Bosa is not on that list, indicating his rehab from his torn ACL suffered in September has gone well. It was Bosa’s third ACL tear dating back to high school. Lynch said Bosa changed his offseason routine from working out in his home state of Florida to staying local and working out at the team facility.
“And I think he’s feeling good as a result,” Lynch said. “Nick’s doing tremendous. I think we’ll see. Nick has always had a different schedule. He’s got a great sense for his body and what he needs. He’ll probably start in a phase, individual first, and then we’ll add him as we see fit, as he sees fit (to full-team drills).”
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What about Mykel Williams?
Williams tore his ACL in early November, but Lynch said the 2025 first-round draft pick is “doing extremely well” and “he’s making every effort to be ready for Week 1.”
“We’ll see if that’s a reality, and we’ll let the markers and the medical staff dictate that.”
Collins had surgery to repair a shoulder injury after the season and is expected to be activated in the second phase of training camp, Lynch said. Guerendo tore a pec in the spring and faces an uphill battle to make the team after San Francisco invested in Jordan James and Kaelon Black in the last two drafts to back up Christian McCaffrey.
Fred Warner at ‘full throttle’
Fred Warner might have an outsized role in training camp this year. He’s expected to be among the veteran leaders filling the void left by head coach Kyle Shanahan’s recovery from a car accident earlier this month, which the team revealed Saturday.
“Fred got back to Kyle right away and said, ‘The message was, ‘we got this coach. Trust us,’” Lynch said.
Lynch said Warner is fully recovered from his fractured ankle that caused him to miss the final 11 games last season. Warner rehabbed quickly following surgery and was making a push to play in the Super Bowl, had San Francisco made it and been able to play for the championship on their home field at Levi’s Stadium, but they lost in the NFC divisional round to the Seattle Seahawks.
Lynch said Warner has spent the offseason mostly preparing as usual rather than recovering from the injury.
“Fred, you can’t hold that guy back, and he wants to be full throttle,” Lynch said. “I think he will be. You guys know how close he came to being ready at the end of last season. I think all that hard work only made it better as he entered this offseason. … He basically was a healthy player just training this offseason. Obviously giving some care to the ankle, but that’s, in his mind, behind him. And that’s a testament to the type of worker he is.”
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