Kittle comeback in play; Mostert, Samuel are out for rest of season
Tight end George Kittle is on pace to play Saturday when the 49ers, despite being eliminated from playoff contention, face the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.
Kittle has been out since sustaining a Nov. 1 foot fracture in Seattle.
His return would coincide with that of his former Iowa quarterback, C. J. Beathard, who will start for the first time in two years, that last start also coming against the Cardinals in Arizona (an 18-15, last-minute loss on Oct. 28, 2018).
Ruled out for the remaining two games are running back Raheem Mostert (ankle) and wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring). Why play Kittle when the 49ers (5-9) have been eliminated?
“If he’s healthy I don’t see the reason why not to. Same with every other player on our roster,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We’d never ask him to play injured. Most of the soreness is going away. We’ll definitely test it again.
“If he’s 100 percent healthy, how do you sit one guy and then look everybody else in the eye on the team? There probably isn’t anybody playing out there 100 percent healthy right now. There’s a respect level players have toward each other.”
Knee and foot injuries have limited Kittle to six games, after he signed the most lucrative contract for a tight end prior to the season (five years, $75 million).
Linebacker Fred Warner said the 49ers’ medical staff has done well in not rushing players back from injury, even though the team has used a franchise record 70 players this season.
“They’re not going to put George on the field unless he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to compete at the same level before he got hurt,” Warner said. “I know George as a person and as a player. He wants to go out there and compete with us whenever he can.
“All that other talk about not making the playoffs or sitting him, I don’t know that. If you’re healthy and a veteran, you’re going to want to compete.” RUNNING BACK OPTIONS >> Mostert’s aggravated ankle sprain ends his season with 521 rushing yards and two touchdowns in eight starts, half of which he was unable to finish.
The 49ers likely will start Jeff Wilson Jr. against the Cardinals, after Shanahan said Wilson emerged healthy enough last game despite ankle and hamstring concerns. Tevin Coleman and Jerick McKinnon are available in relief. Austin Walter is eligible to come off COVID-19 reserve by kickoff but Shanahan doubts his availability.
Former Stanford run
ning back Tyler Gaffney has come out of retirement and signed with the 49ers practice squad, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. He’s had NFL stints with the Carolina Panthers (2014), New England Patriots (2014-17) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-18), and he resparked his baseball career in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system the previous two years. SHERMAN DONE? >> Cornerback Richard Sherman’s calf soreness kept him out of practice and it’s called into question whether he’ll return this season. He missed nine games this season because of a calf issue, and this could mark the end of three-year tenure. He is slated for free agency and has said it would require a “miracle” for the 49ers to find space to sign him.
WILLIAMS’ 2021 DEADLINE >> If left tackle Trent Williams parlays his eighth and “far more special” Pro Bowl honor into a massive pay day, he hopes it comes
from the 49ers. Free agency begins March 17 with the league’s new fiscal year. “We haven’t had conversations talking numbers. The interest is on both sides,” Williams said. “It’s something we have to work out around March 21. I’d love to be here and if the business works out the same, you’ll see me for years to come, and that’s what I hope happens.”
Williams was acquired this year in a trade from Washington, after cancer surgery on his scalp kept him from playing last season, the only year in which he didn’t make a Pro Bowl since 2012.
OTHER INJURIES >> Defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw ( knee) and Dion Jordan (knee) did not practice and are “day to day,” Shanahan said. That is also the case for Tarvarius Moore (knee) while fellow safety Jimmie Ward is in the concussion protocol. Limited at practice: wide receiver Richie James Jr. (ankle) and center Hroniss Grasu (knee).