Kittle may be ready for Giants game
Kittle practices for a second straight day with team, is eager to play again
Tight end George Kittle’s injured knee is feeling better every day, “so that’s awesome,” he said after a second straight day of 49ers practice.
That does not mean he is a lock to return from a one-game absence and play in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants, nor does it sound like the MetLife Stadium turf will scare him if it’s his call to play or not.
“It’s a turf field. It is what it is. I’ve got to go play football,” Kittle said Thursday in a video call from the 49ers’ practice grounds in West Virginia. “I’m not concerned because I haven’t played on it yet, so we’ll see what happens.”
What he and the 49ers saw last Sunday was obviously concerning, at least at the start of the 31-13 rout of the New York Jets. Once defensive linemen Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas got carted off with first-quarter knee injuries, Kittle could not bear to watch more live action on his television back in the Bay Area.
“I watched the first quarter and I saw two injuries and I went outside and did my workout,” Kittle said. “I decided I was bad luck watching the game on TV.”
Several of Kittle’s teammates felt the bad luck was created by MetLife Stadium’s new synthetic turf, which has been cleared to host Sunday’s game after visits by the league, players’ union and independent inspectors, the NFL announced.
This time, whether he plays or not, Kittle will be with his team.
“Watching the Niners play on TV is not really fun when I should be on the field with them,” Kittle said. “I’m looking forward to the next time I get the opportunity to play again, whenever that is. I can’t wait.”
He’s had to wait because of a knee that got sprained and bruised by Arizona Cardinals’ safety Budda Baker just before halftime of the 49ers’ opening loss.
Kittle defended Baker’s hit, calling it “clean” and merely “awkward” once Kittle jumped high for a Jimmy Garoppolo incompletion.
“He’s the first person who asked if I was OK and apologized for the hit. It’s football. I get hit all the time,” Kittle said. “That’s what you sign up for when you play the game. It was a clean hit.
“If he tried to take it easy on me, I’d give him crap for that. I’m glad he didn’t. He plays at an AllPro level every week. I mean, 15 tackles zagainst us, that’s a pretty big deal as a starting safety.”
Kittle is a pretty big deal, too.
He is a two-time All-Pro, a twotime captain and an overall catalyst to a team that’s been hit hard by injuries, including to Garoppolo, whose ankle sprain Sunday may prompt the 49ers to start Nick Mullens for the first time since a 3-5 finish to 2018.
Kittle said he sees the “same old Nick” who is as locked in, confident and prepared as ever, with a “rocket for an arm. He’s slinging it.”
That suggests coach Kyle Shanahan won’t significantly alter his game plan whichever quarterback plays, in what’s been a runoriented scheme, anyhow. Garoppolo did not practice Thursday, nor did running backs Raheem Mostert (knee) and Tevin Coleman (knee), defensive end Dee Ford ( back) or linebacker Dre Greenlaw (quadriceps).
“We’re definitely in good hands if Jimmy can’t go; I don’t know if he’s going to play or not,” Kittle said. “If Nick gets the green light, I know he’s going to rip it. I can’t wait to watch it.”