{"id":1172,"date":"2026-06-04T12:09:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2026-06-04T12:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:09:37","slug":"49ers-george-kittle-stacking-gdays-aiming-for-aussie-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1172","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ George Kittle stacking g’days, aiming for Aussie opener"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SANTA CLARA \u2013 No greater 49ers\u2019 mystery exists between now and the season opener than whether George Kittle can play.<\/p>\n

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Australia, here he comes?<\/p>\n

He\u2019s trying. He\u2019s stacking g\u2019days, if you will.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s literally counting them up \u2013 both ahead to that matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne (Sept. 10, 5:35 p.m. PT) and backward to his Achilles repair exactly 20 weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistic? Yeah, at this point,\u201d Kittle said Wednesday, after his biggest post-op running session. \u201cEven when I had the surgery and (Dr. Neal) ElAttrache told me, \u2018Hey if you do everything the right way, you have a chance.\u2019 It definitely ignites something and makes you push for it. So we\u2019re on track, we\u2019re ahead of schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

His was not a typical Achilles tear, which occurred early in the 49ers\u2019 Jan. 11 wild-card playoff upset in Philadelphia that ousted the defending Super Bowl-champion Eagles \u2013 while Kittle drowned his temporary sorrows with tequila in the visiting locker room.<\/p>\n

Because Kittle\u2019s Achilles ruptured higher up the calf, his repair did not require holes being drilled into his heel. That element fast-tracks his potential comeback, whereas most repairs take almost a year, such as the 10-month return of linebacker Dre Greenlaw with the 2024 49ers and that of Boston Celtics\u2019 star Jason Tatum this spring.<\/p>\n

Kittle, near his ideal playing weight, has rehabilitated on a side field throughout organized team activities.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Could an overseas opener in Australia adversely impact his comeback? The 49ers plan to arrive a week ahead of kickoff \u2013 with a flight time estimated at 16 hours each way, give or take.<\/p>\n

Because the 49ers-Rams play on the NFL\u2019s first Thursday Night Football game, that shortens Kittle\u2019s runway.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour days early and a 16-hour flight \u2014 just another challenge, that\u2019s all it is,\u201d Kittle said.<\/p>\n

He may be a veteran business traveler with the 49ers who\u2019s also spanned the globe amid offseason adventures, but not even he is sure how his body (Achilles) might respond to extended flights, even in a lay-down seat.<\/p>\n

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\u201cCouldn\u2019t tell you. I\u2019ve never done it,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cI just know we fly so much \u2014 our average flight is five or six hours \u2014 so it is what it is. We\u2019re going to work. It\u2019s an awesome opportunity to play in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

It will be the NFL\u2019s first-ever regular-season game in Australia, although the Denver Broncos under then-coach Mike Shanahan played the San Diego Chargers in Sydney in a 1999 exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be really fun playing at home (the next three games) if we win. That\u2019s our goal,\u201d Kittle said of the three-game homestand after Australia. \u201cTo play over there in front of an awesome crowd, huge stadium, 110,000 people. It sounds sick to me. Might as well just take advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wednesday was a milestone moment of sorts. He did single-leg hops and 20- to 30-yard jogs, \u201cwhich is pretty fun \u2013 the get-offs and starts,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cMost I\u2019ve ran and we\u2019re 19 weeks to the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Actually his surgery was 20 weeks earlier by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Rams\u2019 orthopedic surgeon yet one who\u2019s done some of the biggest procedures on 49ers\u2019 stars over recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first major injury of my career,\u201d Kittle, a 10th-year veteran, said while knocking on wood. \u201cI missed one game, it sucks, was a playoff game (the 49ers lost at Seattle), but there\u2019s an opportunity to play Week 1 and not miss first-half of the season. \u2026 It\u2019s been a pretty easy mental process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Kyle Shanahan said last week of Kittle: \u201cHe is on track and very positive and happy every day like Kittle is and doing good. Kittle works his tail off and he\u2019s extremely talented and gifted, so he\u2019ll do it as fast as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kittle\u2019s already contributed mightily to the 49ers\u2019 2026 efforts, having successfully sold wide receiver Mike Evans on signing in free agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day I see Mike, I say, \u2018Wow Mike Evans is here.\u2019 I think I\u2019m annoying him at this point,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cI pinch myself every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

To frame how big an addition Evans might be to the offense, Kittle referred to recent 49ers\u2019 history, without the intent of disparaging the likes of Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Jauan Jennings and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look back at the 49ers, this is like the first legit veteran wide receiver I\u2019ve had on my roster since Emmanual Sanders in 2019, in my opinion,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cNothing against all the other veteran receivers I\u2019ve had but he\u2019s a Hall of Famer who is a First Team All-Pro, Pro Bowl guy. He\u2019s an incredible wide receiver.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust to see him run routes and the way he sees things, it\u2019s just so fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kittle\u2019s first playoff and Super Bowl run came in 2019 after a midseason trade that brought in Sanders.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was super savvy and did cool things to get open,\u201d Kittle recalled.<\/p>\n

While Kittle gets back up to full speed and rather rely so much again on running back Christian McCaffrey\u2019s receiving ability, the 49ers added beyond Evans by signing Christian Kirk and drafting De\u2019Zhaun Stribling.<\/p>\n

A year ago, the 49ers\u2019 roster got razed, especially defensively. This year\u2019s changes uplifted Kittle and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year was definitely different. It had a lot of randomness,\u201d Kittle said. \u201cBut somehow we won 13 games with like half of our team and that\u2019s a testament to our team and the foundation we\u2019ve built as leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, the 49ers\u2019 longest-tenured active players, were tabbed as \u201cCaptains of the Bay\u201d ambassadors by the Bay Area Host Committee ahead of this year\u2019s Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup games at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

Now three weeks into jogging on his full body weight, Kittle is looking forward more so to getting cleared for football movements \u2014 run blocking, pass protection, route running, rust knocking off.<\/p>\n

As for the World Cup games coming to his and the 49ers\u2019 home turf \u2026 \u201cI\u2019ll be in Nashville. You guys have fun in the Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Jarvis: This pancreatic cancer drug is so good, it got a standing ovation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tight end George Kittle is ramping up his running amid an Achilles comeback that could get him in the 49ers’ season-opening lineup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n49ers’ George Kittle stacking g’days, aiming for Aussie opener - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1172\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"49ers’ George Kittle stacking g’days, aiming for Aussie opener - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tight end George Kittle is ramping up his running amid an Achilles comeback that could get him in the 49ers' season-opening lineup.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1172\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T12:09:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"49ers’ George Kittle stacking g’days, aiming for Aussie opener\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T12:09:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172\"},\"wordCount\":1075,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/86d91b9ab1b42fe3581df9202bc809d6.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=1172\",\"name\":\"49ers’ George Kittle stacking g’days, aiming for Aussie opener - 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