George Kittle is moving well enough in his Achilles rehab to hit a speed he clearly felt good about, and the 49ers tight end isn’t hiding how upbeat he is about the progress. Kittle said he got over 16 miles an hour in practice and described the work as another encouraging checkpoint in his recovery from the torn Achilles he suffered in the NFC Wild Card round.
“I got a run today, hit over 16 miles an hour,” Kittle said, via 49ersWebZone. “That was pretty sick… I am on a tight leash, but I’m pulling as hard as I can.”
He doubled down on that sense of momentum, saying the ability to sprint and keep adding more to his rehab has him feeling ahead of the curve.
“I’m 21 weeks out, and I’m running over 16 miles an hour, so I’m having a great time,” Kittle said. “Single-leg box jumps, we’re cutting again, we’re having some fun.”
Kittle also made it clear the people around him are trying to keep him from rushing the process. By his own description, the trainers are urging him to settle down even while he keeps pushing for more.
“I’m a little bit ahead of schedule, so I’m trying new things,” Kittle said. “My trainers are like, ‘Yeah, just simmer just a little bit.’ Basically, what my surgeon told me is don’t be a dumbass, and I’m trying my best to just not be a dumbass.”
In Arizona, Jeremiyah Love is already thinking about the workload, the pressure and the daily routine that comes with his first NFL season. The Cardinals running back said he expects plenty to be placed on his shoulders, but he also pointed out that he won’t be carrying the offense alone.
“I haven’t seen what that looks like in the NFL,” Love said of his transition, via the team website. “I think a lot of guys probably don’t score that many touchdowns, but that’s the goal I set for myself.
Everything is about the team. If you make sure you’re doing your part on a team, those things will come.”
Love said the offseason has been less about the spotlight and more about learning how to handle the grind. He’s focused on building habits that will carry him into training camp and beyond.
“I’ve been trying to focus on getting information about how you maintain your body,” Love added. “How you go about your day-to-day, and how you keep your mental working so you can go out there every day and do what you got to do.
Being in the big leagues, all of the pressure is not going to be on me,” Love said. “You don’t need one guy going out there and getting 30 carries a game.
We’ve got 21 games this season potentially, so that’s not going to be too good in the long run. But I love being around guys that are great at football.
The rest of the time this break is to train my body to get prepared for training camp so I’m ready to play actual football. The mentality is all gas, no breaks until the time training camp comes, and once training camp comes I’m prepared and I’m ready to go.”
Over in Los Angeles, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said the plan with DE Myles Garrett is simple: put him where he can be at his best, then let his game take over. Garrett is coming off the season in Cleveland when he recorded the most sacks in a single season in NFL history, and Shula said the Rams want to work with that, not against it.
“Obviously, we’re still going to have our principals with that stuff, but we’re going to let him do what he does best and we all know exactly what he does best,” Shula said last week, via Stu Jackson of the team website. “You’re not going to take Michael Jordan, LeBron [James], all those guys and pull them out of their comfort zone. We’re going to work with him and put him in the best spots that we think for him and the defense to succeed.”
In Other News...
Cardinals Suddenly Face A Big Decision On Their New Pass Rusher
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A new trade idea has only sharpened that conversation, because it frames Sweat as a piece another team could target while Arizona weighs whether to cash in on a player who is already drawing outside interest. The Cardinals would not be getting another player back in that scenario, only future draft value, which is the kind of return that can look attractive in the abstract and much harder to justify when a proven pass rusher is suddenly the subject of league-wide speculation. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Fans Have Every Reason To Worry About Trey McBride
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Still, that combination is exactly what can make a situation worth watching. McBride has already proven he can carry a major workload, and the Cardinals now have to show they can build something worthy of it, starting with stability at quarterback. There is no sign he wants out, but if Arizona keeps spinning its wheels, the league will keep a close eye on one of its best young tight ends. [Read more 🡒]
Calais Campbell Family Tragedy Leaves Cardinals Fans Heartbroken
News of Calais Campbells family has left a heavy pause around the NFL veteran and his roots in Arizona, where fans still remember the long, dependable run he gave the Cardinals. The Campbell family is grieving the loss of his mother, Nateal Campbell, while the situation in Atlanta has drawn in law enforcement and placed the familys pain in the public eye at a moment no one would want.
The family released a statement mourning Nateal Campbell and remembering their father, Chuck, as the investigation continues. For Cardinals followers who watched Calais Campbell become one of the franchises most respected players, the focus now is far from football and squarely on a family facing an unthinkable tragedy, with more details still to come from the legal process. [Read more 🡒]