Who is Jake Tonges? Meet 49ers’ George Kittle tight end replacement who grew up an hour from San Francisco originally appeared on The Sporting News
Yeah, he caught that. In the picture right above these words. Jake Tonges said, “Gimme that,” and came down with his first NFL touchdown.
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It was quite the introduction to the San Francisco 49ers for the physically imposing tight end. He was called upon when George Kittle left Week 1 with a hamstring injury, and now Tonges looks like he’ll have some legitimate importance going forward.
Kittle has been placed on Injured Reserve, which means he’ll miss at least four games. The 49ers seem to be counting on Luke Farrell as a blocking TE, which leaves Tonges to go catch some passes.
He had three catches for 15 yards and the score after Kittle left in the opener.
Tonges’ story is cool, too. He attended high school just an hour away from San Francisco.
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Who is Jake Tonges?
Jake Tonges is a 26-year old tight end for the San Francisco 49ers.
He measures up at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds.
He came to the NFL in 2022 as an undrafted free agent signee with the Chicago Bears.
Where is Jake Tonges from?
Jake Tonges was originally born in Cincinnati, but he attended Los Gatos High School in California, which is about an hour from San Francisco.
He then played collegiately for the Cal Golden Bears.
After going undrafted in April 2022, Tonges signed with the Bears. He went up and down from active roster to practice squad during that rookie season.
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He was waived/injured from Chicago in August 2023 and signed with the 49ers’ practice squad in September.
Tonges hadn’t gotten an NFL catch until sticking it out for another year and finally getting his chance on Sunday, Sept. 7.
The 49ers needed his touchdown, because it was the difference in a 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
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San Francisco 49ers tight end depth chart
With George Kittle out, the 49ers currently have two tight ends on their active roster:
Farrell is the blocker and will be on the field plenty, but Tonges will run the key TE pass routes.
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They also have tight end Brayden Willis on the practice squad, and he’s a candidate for a game day promotion.
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