Report: There’s a ‘high level of confidence’ that George Kittle plays in Week 1

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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 11: Demarcus Robinson #5 and George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrate during the first quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We are less than a month away from the season opener for the San Francisco 49ers, and the injury bug has been hitting the team hard in training camp. At times over the last few days, there have been 20 players out of practice, forcing the team to continuously work out other players and sign more camp bodies.

But it’s not only players getting hurt during camp. The 49ers have a good contingent of guys working their way back from injuries sustained earlier in the offseason or from last season, such as George Kittle, who tore his Achilles in the playoffs back in January.

Since the offseason began, it hasn’t been fully clear when Kittle would be ultimately available to play. He’s a 32-year-old tight end coming off a major injury, and there wasn’t any need to rush him back throughout the offseason. But, as the offseason has gone on, it’s seemed like the star tight end has continued to progress well and hit his benchmarks, although he’s still working his way back to being 100 percent on the field.

Well, on Monday evening, CBS Sports’s Matt Zenitz reported that Kittle’s recovery progress had been ‘terrific’ and that the team expects him back on the field in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.

“49ers star tight end George Kittle continues to make terrific progress working back from the torn Achilles he suffered in January and there’s a high level of confidence at this point that he’ll end up being able to play Week 1 vs. the Rams,” Zenitz wrote in a tweet.

Kittle had started training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, as he and several other 49ers worked back from significant injuries. With this current timeline, he would be back on the field eight months after sustaining the torn Achilles, which is quite impressive in itself.

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner reported that Kittle had done his most ‘extensive’ practice work on the side yet during Monday’s practice, noting that he seemed to be moving quite well.

“One notable thing from before practice: TE George Kittle did the most extensive side work we’ve been able to see so far in this camp,” Wagoner tweeted. “He was running routes, catching passes and doing some conditioning. Seems to be moving quite well as he bounces back from Achilles injury.”

Things seem to be trending up for the 49ers star tight end heading into Week 1.

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