George Kittle looks to be trending toward a Week 1 return, and the 49ers are at least acting like it’s a real possibility.
The San Francisco tight end, who tore his Achilles in January’s Wild Card Round win over the Philadelphia Eagles, was activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list last month and got back to individual drills. Now the next checkpoint is the opener, and all signs point in that direction.
Kittle reportedly traveled with the 49ers to Australia for their Week 1 matchup with NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport, two positive days of practice pushed that decision forward. Rapaport also said defensive end Nick Bosa is making the trip after tearing his ACL last September.
The 49ers and Rams meet in Melbourne next Thursday night.
Kittle’s status also matters for fantasy managers trying to figure out where to take him. He’s being treated as a fringe TE1 in drafts, landing near Isaiah Likely, Dalton Kincaid, Mark Andrews and Travis Kelce.
There’s obvious upside there. Kittle finished top two at the position in both 2023 and 2024. But the concern is just as obvious: he’s less than nine months removed from an Achilles injury, and that’s a fast turnaround for any player, especially a skill-position player in his 30s.
If you draft Kittle, the safest play is to pair him with another tight end. He could be ready, but there’s enough risk here that a backup plan makes sense in case he needs more time to get back up to speed or misses time again.
In Other News...
49ers Now Face A Bigger Jed York Problem Than The Arrest
Jed Yorks recent legal trouble has already put the 49ers in an awkward spot, but the more immediate concern inside the organization may be what happens around the business side of the franchise if his presence stays limited. General manager John Lynch has said the team is preparing for possible league discipline while football operations continue under executive Al Guido, a setup that keeps the day-to-day work moving even as the owners status hangs over the building.
For now, the 49ers say the locker room and team activities have not been affected, which is the kind of answer clubs tend to give when they want the football to stay separate from everything else. Still, this is not just about the arrest itself. It is about how much of Yorks role can be carried out from a distance, how the league responds, and whether a franchise used to having its owner close at hand can keep functioning smoothly if that becomes the new normal. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Week 1 Could Hinge On A Rams Discipline Decision
The Rams enter their international opener against the 49ers with two notable players still available on paper, even as the league continues to weigh possible discipline. Puka Nacua is facing a civil lawsuit alleging physical assault and battery, and Alaric Jackson remains in the same waiting pattern, with neither player placed on the commissioners exempt list ahead of Week 1.
For San Francisco, the timing matters almost as much as the ruling itself. The NFL has shown before that suspensions can land in early September, but there has been no official announcement yet, leaving the 49ers to prepare for a division game with one more layer of uncertainty than usual. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Australia Plan Could Create A Huge Rams Debate
The 49ers trip to Australia for their 2026 season opener is already shaping up to be more than just a long-haul curiosity. San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams are set to open the NFL regular season in Melbourne on Sept. 10, and the contrast in travel plans has become part of the conversation before either team boards a plane.
The Rams intend to arrive the day before the game and leave immediately afterward, while the 49ers are planning to get there several days early to adjust to the time difference. That difference has prompted some outside debate about which approach is smarter for handling jetlag, with neurologist W. Christopher Winter suggesting the Rams shorter stay could actually be the better way to manage the trip. [Read more 🡒]