All signs point toward Kittle’s return against Cardinals
George Kittle wants to play, and San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan wants that, too.
With no playoff berth possible, however, this is the time a team’s front office and medical staff must weigh the consequences over the wishes of a player and coach.
General manager John Lynch on Friday morning gave his blessing, and he said that although team doctors already cleared Kittle last week to come back from a foot fracture, they still kept him out of last Sunday’s loss at Dallas that eliminated them from playoff contention.
“Yes, you have to have discretion and all those things, but we’ve been very thoughtful about this, and if he plays, it’s only because he’s ready to play,” Lynch said on KNBR 680-AM. “He’s eager to play and we want him to play.”
All signs, thus, point to Kittle playing Saturday when the 49ers (5-9) play the host Arizona Cardinals (8- 6). At quarterback will be Kittle’s former Iowa t e ammat e C . J. Be at ha rd , who makes his first start in two years as an injury replacement to Nick Mullens and Jimmy Garoppolo, the latter of whom returned to practice this week from a Nov. 1 ankle sprain but has no clearance to play the remaining two games.
A final announcement was possible later Thursday on Kittle’s likely activation off the Injured Reserve list. Shanahan was expected to address the media via video conference and Kittle might have joined that session, too.
Kittle has left injured in the 49ers’ last two games against Arizona, sustaining knee and ankle injuries in a 2019 Halloween night win and a 2020 seasonopening loss.
Kittle has played in six games (37 catches, 474 yards, two touchdowns). A First Team All-Pro tight end last year and two-time captain, he received a five-year, $75 million contract extension in August.