The San Francisco 49ers (12-4) managed to outlast the Chicago Bears in a Sunday Night Football shootout without George Kittle, but they may need the star tight end if they are going to survive the Seattle Seahawks' top-notch defense on Saturday. While there are some injury updates worth monitoring coming out of Tuesday, fans received some good news regarding Kittle. He was a limited practice participant, per NBC Sports Bay Area's Jennifer Lee Chan.
Niners running back Christian McCaffrey and left tackle Trent Williams, two of the most important members of this squad, both sat out of practice. Therefore, the Kittle news is quite important. Considering how brilliantly Brock Purdy performed versus the Bears, No. 85 could be getting healthy at the perfect time.
The 49ers have accomplished so much at less than full strength. If San Francisco can just keep its core players on the field for the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign, it could realistically compete for a Super Bowl in its own stadium. The 49er Faithful understand that making such a momentous run is far more likely if Kittle is operating at his All-Pro form.
The 32-year-old has missed a chunk of the season following back-to-back stellar years, but he still adds a ton of value to the San Francisco offense. George Kittle has 52 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games. He posted 15 catches for 203 yards and two TDs combined against the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts before being ruled out with an ankle injury for last Sunday's face-off with Chicago.
The hope is that the seven-time Pro Bowler can pick up where he left off once he gets healthy. Though, few players are truly “healthy” at this time of the year. Kittle will try to build on Tuesday's limited practice and come back strong for Wednesday's session. The 49ers will battle the Seahawks (13-3) for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
