Kittle ruled out versus Jets.
SANTA CLARA >> Tight end George Kittle will not play in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. In fact, he won’t even be there.
The 49ers are leaving Kittle behind to undergo rehab on his leftknee sprain as they head back east for a 10-day trip. He is to join them next week at
The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, where they will bunker before their Week 3 game at the New York Giants.
“If it was just the normal person, we probably would have ruled him out earlier in the week, but we never do that with George,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday. “If he’s not going to play,
better to leave him here for rehabs. He’ll meet us in West Virginia. These two days will help him and hopefully he’ll be ready to go next week.”
Kittle did not practice this week because of his knee injury in the 49ers’ 24-20 opening loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He played all but one snap, that being the one immediately following the hit he took from safety Budda Baker on a red-zone incompletion.
With Kittle out — this will be only the fourth game he has missed among the 50 in his career — Shanahan said the 49ers will deploy their other three tight ends: Jordan Reed, Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner.
Reed had two catches in a 10-snap cameo, his first action since the 2018 season with Washington. Shanahan said he figured to ramp up Reed’s workload this week, adding: “It doesn’t change much with George out. We can give him a couple more opportunities.”
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk said of Kittle’s absence: “It’s just a good reminder nothing comes easy in this league. What we did last year wasn’t easy. We had to grind every week. There were times George wasn’t out there and Ross Dwelley had to step up. It’s something we have experience with. We’ll look to the next guy and expect them to take care of business.”
Ford’s neck spasms
Defensive end Dee Ford is questionable for Sunday’s game after missing a second straight practice because of what Shanahan called “neck spasms.” Ford underwent imaging exams Thursday on his neck and has consulted with medical professionals over the safety of playing Sunday.
Asked if Ford had a muscle strain or a more concerning disk issue, Shanahan said: “Yesterday it was just neck spasms so we rested him. Today he met with guys to make sure it’s safe, so that’s why it’s questionable.”
Sanu onboard, Aiyuk OK
Mohamed Sanu passed his physical and officially signed ahead of Friday’s practice debut. He is wearing No. 14.
“He’s been in the Zoom meetings and watching installs,” Shanahan said. “We threw him out there today and he didn’t have any mistakes and lined up with confidence. Mo’s a pro.”
Shanahan said Sanu will suit up if they opt to dress their five healthy receivers, the others being Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor, Dante Pettis and Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk would be making his NFL debut. The firstround draft pick practiced in full all week after being inactive in the season opener because of an Aug. 23 hamstring strain. Neither Aiyuk nor Sanu was made available for comment.
Wide receiver Richie James Jr. went on injured reserve because of Sunday’s hamstring injury.
In the past month, the 49ers have put six wide receivers on IR: Deebo Samuel, Jalen Hurd, Tavon Austin, J.J. Nelson, Chris Thompson and now James. Only Samuel and James are eligible to get reactivated after missing three games, because the others went on IR before Week 1. Nelson was waived before the season.
Lineup changes
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is expected to start in place of Richard Sherman, who was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, general manager John Lynch confirmed on KNBR 680-AM.
Safety Jimmie Ward said he’s confident Witherspoon’s past experience as a starter will make for a smooth transition. As for filling Sherman’s leadership void, “I feel everybody has to step up and fill that,” Ward said. “I’m vocal sometime but I lead with action and like to play hard.”
Center Ben Garland also looks poised to play, although Lynch said on KNBR that Hronnis Grasu played well as the starting center in Week 1.
Jets’ Crowder out
Jets No. 1 receiver Jamison Crowder, bothered by a hamstring injury, has been ruled out for Sunday’s game. He had been limited in Wednesday’s practice and sat out Thursday’s onfield workouts.
Crowder had seven catches for 115 yards and a touchdown for the Jets in their 27-17 loss to Buffalo in Week 1. The Jets are already missing running back Le’Veon Bell and receiver Denzel Mims, who have been placed on injured reserve with knee and hamstring injuries, respectively.
The Jets will start 49ers all-time leading rusher Frank Gore, and quarterback Sam Darnold’s top targets figure to be Breshad Perriman, Braxton Berrios and Chris Hogan. Darnold is 11-16 in his career with as many starts as 49ers counterpart Jimmy Garoppolo (21-6).