Kittle downplays leg injury: ‘I feel fantastic’
SANTACLARA>> Tight end George Kittle hid any concern he or the 49ers night have about a lowerleg injury he sustained in Sunday’s season-opening loss.
“I feel fantastic. Fantastic. Not an issue at all,”
Kittle said after the 24-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Just before halftime, Kittle sustained a blow to his left knee and leg, then walked with the 49ers’ team doctor into the locker room for further evaluation.
The severity of Kittle’s injury is not known, although he returned to play out the second half, and he was held without a catch after halftime. Coach Kyle Shanahan did not reveal any details about Kittle’s “lower leg” injury and hoped to learn more today.
Kittle’s knee was hit by Arizona safety Budda Baker as Jimmy Garoppolo’s second-down pass from the 8-yard line sailed high over Kittle on the far left side of the formation. Kittle headed to the 49ers’ bench, was briefly evaluated by the medical staff, tried walking off the pain and then retreated to the locker room for further evaluation.
A first-team All-Pro last season, Kittle caught the first four passes targeted to him for 44 yards, and he had a 9-yard run in Cardinals territory as the 49ers took a 13-10 lead into halftime.
Garoppolo said the Cardinals intensified their coverage on Kittle and that is why he got shut out after the injury.
“I don’t think it affected him,” Garoppolo said. “George is a warrior and fights through injuries. They were cheating coverage to him and putting extra people on him.”
Prior to the start of training camp, the 49ers rewarded Kittle with a five-year, $75 million contract extension, the richest ever for a tight end.
49ERS STAND ALONE FOR ANTHEM >> The 49ers were alone in the bowl of Levi’s Stadium during the national anthem before Sunday’s opener.
The Cardinals remained inside their locker room until after the anthem, skipping any racial justice protest or related controversy, while fans were not allowed in the stadium because of the coronavirus pandemic.
San Francisco’s Richie James and Jerick McKinnon appeared to squat near the 49ers’ bench during the anthem, while all other visible members of the 49ers on the sideline were standing.
Thirty minutes before kickoff, the 49ers lined up on their goal line — Shanahan between Garoppolo and Dee Ford — as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was played in accompaniment with the NFL’s “It Takes All of Us” and “End Racism” messages for the social equality and pandemic awareness campaigns.
The Cardinals retreated to their locker room after warmups rather than stay on the field for either ceremony.
KAP BLASTS NFL >> Colin Kaepernick blasted the NFL, questioning how the league can claim to support the Black Lives Matter movement while he claims it is “still actively blackballing” his former 49ers teammate Eric Reid.
Reid, a defensive back who set two Carolina Panthers records last year, still finds himself out of the league as a free agent just like Kaepernick, who hasn’t played since 2016, when he began taking a knee during the national anthem to protest social and racial injustice.
“While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid for fighting for the Black community. Eric set 2 franchise records last year, and is one of the best defensive players in the league,” Kaepernick tweeted Sunday.
Reid knelt alongside Kaepernick during the anthem while with the 49ers in 2016, and he continued the protest the next season. Kaepernick and Reid both filed a grievance against the NFL, the free agents alleging the league’s owners were colluding to prevent them from playing again. That case was settled out of court.
Although Kaepernick hasn’t played in four years, his impact can still be seen throughout the league when many players still kneel in protest during the anthem.
While NFL commissioner Roger Goodell encouraged teams to consider signing Kaepernick this summer, he also signaled that the league will support players’ right to peacefully protest any perceived injustices.
Kapernick, though, said he doesn’t see the proof of that when the league can’t find room for Reid, who became the first Panthers defensive back to get as many as 130 tackles as well as four sacks in a season.