Ankle ‘soreness’ keeps 49ers’ Kittle from practicing.
SANTA CLARA >> Ankle “soreness” from Saturday’s playoff debut kept George Kittle from practicing Wednesday, the 49ers said following his surprise status in their injury report.
Kittle, the 49ers’ All-Pro tight end and offensive catalyst, is still expected to play in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers.
He was seen walking without a limp and showed no signs of pain or hindrance following the 27-10 win over Minnesota.
Coach Kyle Shanahan did not mention him on a pre-practice injury report during a media briefing, in which he listed defensive end Dee Ford (hamstring, quadriceps) as the only player who would not participate Wednesday.
This likely is a precautionary move to rest Kittle rather than aggravate the ankle, believed to be the same one he sustained bone chips in on Oct. 31 at Arizona. Kittle missed the ensuing two games
after that win against the Cardinals.
Kittle finished with a team-high 85 receptions in the regular season for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns. In the playoff opener, Kittle had only three receptions
for a season-low 16 yards, but he played an integral role in the convoy of blockers for a rushing attack that had 186 yards and two touchdowns on 47 carries (most in 49ers playoff history).
Kittle played 68 of 71 offensive snaps against the Vikings. He was mic’d up for the game and provided plenty of entertaining audio,
especially after run blocks, from requesting Shanahan to “run it again!” and later exhalting, “Woo! Rides, baby, all day long. Get your tickets!”
Shanahan said Kittle’s lack of receptions Saturday was by design, but not because of an ankle issue. Rather in that the 49ers knew they wanted to run more than pass.
“We knew going into that game it was going to be hard to beat that team without getting a bunch of runs in,” Shanahan said, “and we were able to stick with it. With the way the defense played and how good our tight ends are at blocking and stuff, and how good we did on third down just allowed us to stick with it.”