Tight end George Kittle is excited to return for the 49ers and perhaps cause fits to the Arizona Cardinals' and Seattle Seahawks' playoff pictures these last two games.
Tight end George Kittle’s return from a foot fracture indeed will happen Saturday, and while he won’t have with his usual heavy workload, he has his reasons to rejoin a 49ers team already ousted from playoff contention.
“That’s why I’m coming back, because I have a very sour taste in my mouth. I hate losing football games and hate when I don’t perform at at a high level,” Kittle said via video conference Friday from the 49ers’ temporary home this month in Glendale Arizona.
“Ending on an injury is not very fun. So the fact I get two opportunities, especially against division opponents and to let them know I’m still here and will be for multiple years to come, I’m really excited about the chance to play the next two weeks.”
In Kittle’s return from a six-game layoff, the 49ers (5-9) will look to impact the playoff prospects of the Arizona Cardinals (8-6) on Saturday and the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks (10-4), with both games at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium.
“He’s in great shape and is conditioned well but hasn’t played a lot of football in a while, so we’ve got to be smart with that,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said via video conference. “We don’t expect him to play 95 percent of the plays like he usually does.”
Kittle has missed the past six games since fracturing the cuboid bone in his foot. The 49ers signed him to the richest deal ever for a tight end before the season (5 years, $75 million), but that money couldn’t buy a happy rehab.
“The tough thing about breaking a foot in COVID is you can’t really condition inside. You can’t use cardio equipment,” Kittle said Thursday. “The only condition I could physically do was running, and I couldn’t run until about a couple weeks ago.
“I was a little out of shape and probably still am. But you’re going to see a lot of effort out of me and it’s going to be pretty fun.”
Kittle returned to practice last week and, according to general manager John Lynch, was medically cleared to play last Sunday’s game but the 49ers erred on the side of caution and wanted to further ramp him up this week.
Kittle said he did not really have any input in missing Sunday’s 41-33 loss at Dallas. But he did for this game, with apparently little haggling over the risk factor. “(Shanahan) asked me if I wanted to play, I said, ‘Hell, yes.’ He said, ‘Sounds good.’ That was our conversation,” Kittle said.
This is the time a team’s front office and medical staff must weigh the consequences over the wants of a player and coach. And Lynch voiced his approval Friday morning on KNBR 680-AM.
“Yes, you have to have discretion and all those things. But we’ve been very thoughtful about this and 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. George is a competitor and wants to be out there.
“We’ll make the best decision for this franchise, I can assure,” Lynch added. “We’ve been incredibly thorough in this process to make sure we’ve crossed everything off in an effort to make sure he’s right out there.”
QB UPDATES
C.J. Beathard will make his first start since 2018 at Arizona, and he won’t need to worry about the 49ers wanting to pull him for a look at new backup Josh Rosen. “I’m not taking C.J. out unless he can’t go because of injury,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan said the 49ers made no promises or salary incentives in signing Rosen off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad for the remainder of this season. He was drafted 10th overall in 2018 out of UCLA by the Cardinals.
As for the 49ers’ other quarterbacks, Jimmy Garoppolo impressed in his first week back at practice since his Nov. 1 ankle sprain.
Said Shanahan: “Always when Jimmy’s out there throwing, it’s usually pretty impressive. We didn’t move him around much, because we are trying to be safe with him. But he looked great. He looked like Jimmy.”
Nick Mullens will have his throwing elbow evaluated by a specialist for potential Tommy John, reconstructive surgery. “I’d be surprised, if not,” Shanahan added. “It’s going to be long recovery, regardless if he’s gets surgery or not.”
SHERMAN, WARD OUT
Cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) and free safety Jimmie Ward (concussion) will not play against a Cardinals offense that saw DeAndre Hopkins catch 14 passes for 151 yards in their season-opening win over the 49ers.
Sherman missed nine games after playing in the season opener, and although he said upon his return that his calf will not be a chronic, Shanahan acknowledged that the 10th-year veteran has played through pain.
“I was surprised when he did come back,” Shanahan said. “He got well enough to play on it and help us out. I don’t think he was feeling 100 percent. You can tell it was wearing on him a little bit, watching him in practice and games.”
Ward left Sunday’s loss at Dallas with a concussion, and Marcell Harris is expected to start at safety alongside Tarvarius Moore, who is questionable because of a knee injury. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring) is also questionable.
OTHER INJURIES
Running back Raheem Mostert (ankle) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring) are out for this game and the finale. Doubtful Saturday is defensive end Dion Jordan (knee) and also questionable are defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw (knee) and center Hroniss Grasu (knee).
LATE ADDITION
The 49ers signed wide receiver Matt Cole, formerly of the Miami Dolphins practice squad. He was last year’s Great Lakes Valley Conference special teams player of the year, out of McKendree University in Illinois.
