George Kittle had a little fun with Aaron Donald, and the timing made the message land even harder.
On the 197th episode of the “New Heights Podcast,” Kittle joined Jason and Travis Kelce fresh off Tight End University 2026 and got into a range of topics with the brothers. The biggest eyebrow-raiser came when the perennial All-Pro tight end addressed the chatter around Donald possibly coming out of retirement after the Rams’ blockbuster trade for Myles Garrett.
“My only message really is, like, hey, Aaron, you're enjoying retirement,” Kittle said.
“Aaron Donald, you're fantastic. You had a great career.
You won the Super Bowl. You're one of the best defensive players of all time, man.
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“Just, you're good, man. You're great.
Yeah, keep working it out. Just keep hanging out with your family.
I will say, when we were playing the Rams twice a year with Aaron Donald, you get the Aaron Donald treatment, which is like, hey, everything sides to him. You run runs that avoid him.
You always have four hands on him.
“So I'm not saying it's the same but they're both amazing players, so you just gotta do the same thing with Myles. You just gotta have a Myles Garrett game plan, and hope that no one else decides to have the best game of their life.”
Donald retired after the 2023 season and spent his entire career with the Rams, where he helped them win Super Bowl LVI. Since Los Angeles landed Garrett in an offseason trade, speculation has started that Donald might be thinking about ending his two-year retirement.
Kittle clearly isn’t eager to see that happen. From the 49ers’ side, the concern is obvious: they face the Rams at least twice every season, and the idea of dealing with Donald and Garrett in the same division would make those matchups a lot more complicated.
Kittle’s own focus is on getting back in time for the opener. He tore his Achilles in the Wild Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, ending his 2025 season. ESPN reported that he is “ahead of schedule” in rehab, and he’s already working through on-field drills, cutting, and reaching speeds above 16 mph.
San Francisco has also been active this offseason. The 49ers added Mike Evans, Christian Kirk and Nate Hobbs in free agency, traded for Osa Odighizuwa, and used eight picks in the 2026 draft.
For Kittle and the 49ers, the target remains the same: win the first Super Bowl of the Kyle Shanahan era. To get there, they’ll have to get through a loaded NFC and also handle whatever the AFC throws at them.
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