The tight end position remains to be one of the most overlooked positions in the league today. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo wanted to give credit to those guys which led to him inadvertently founding the national tight end day. Over the years, what started as an inside joke in the Niners locker room is now a tradition being taken seriously by the league on every fourth Sunday of October.
According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, it all started back on September 16, 2018, as the Niners hosted the Detroit Lions in a Week 2 matchup when Garoppolo first blurted the idea.
“I'm pretty sure it was a day all the tight ends were active and so [quarterback] Jimmy G[aroppolo] was like ‘What is it, national tight end day?'” Kittle said.
49ers tight end George Kittle along with former fellow tight end Garrett Celek then picked up on their quarterback's cue.
“We were like ‘Yeah, it's a holiday, man, it's national tight end day,'” Kittle said. “And we just kind of rolled with it and Garrett Celek had a touchdown on that day, which that was our first annual Niners national tight end day.”
Last year, the NFL started to embrace the idea and tight ends all over the league will be given more coverage this Sunday. The league will also be pushing tight end content on its various social channels all week as an ode to the holiday.
Apart from the occasion, Kittle will also have a chance to etch his name on record books in their upcoming matchup against the New England Patriots. He will get to surpass 49ers legend Mike Ditka for the record of most receiving yards by a tight end in his first 50 games in NFL history if he can amass 112 or more receiving yards on Sunday.
More importantly, the entire 49ers unit will aim to notch their fourth win of the season against a hungry Patriots squad who are also looking to snag a victory of their own.
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