George Kittle’s season opener has been cut short.
The star tight end suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the San Francisco 49ers’ matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and was ruled out of the rest of the game, the team announced.
Kittle had put together a strong start to the Week 1 contests, recording four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown.
Kittle has managed to avoid serious injuries over the last few seasons, but he dealt with hamstring issues last year. He missed the 49ers’ Week 3 contest against the Los Angeles Rams because of a hamstring injury and was sidelined in Week 11 against the Seahawks, again because of his hamstring.
Those were the only two games he missed in 2024, though, and Kittle ended the year with 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns, marking back-to-back seasons with 1,000 or more yards. Kittle also led San Francisco in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
The severity of Kittle’s injury is not yet known, but the Niners can’t afford to be without their star for very long.
Quarterback Brock Purdy doesn’t exactly have an abundance of options to throw to early this season after the team traded away Deebo Samuel. Star receiver Brandon Aiyuk is also on the physically unavailable list to start the year as he continues to rehab a torn ACL and MCL. Luckily for San Francisco, it was able to avoid a contract holdout with wide receiver Jauan Jennings after adjusting his contract.
The 49ers went 6-11 last year after making the Super Bowl in 2023, and they’re looking to be a contender once again this year. Having Kittle healthy will be a major factor in their championship aspirations.
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