George Kittle didn’t just play through San Francisco’s Week 5 win over Seattle - he did it while barely feeling like himself.
The 49ers tight end said this week that an illness had wiped him out heading into last Sunday’s game at Lumen Field. His description made it sound like he was operating on whatever energy he could scrape together.
“Terrible, like a shell of myself,” Kittle told reporters. “Horrible, not a lot of juice, but when you have enough caffeine in you, you can definitely play football.”
Kittle wasn’t sure exactly what got him, saying he didn’t know whether it was the flu. What he did know was that it lingered.
“I don’t know. I was sick for like a while and I feel like I just got over it today,” he said. “So it’s been a grind, but we’re past it.”
The illness also hit him physically. Kittle had said he may have dropped 10 pounds while sick, and he suggested this week that he’s almost back to where he wants to be.
“We’re close to it, so enough,” Kittle said. “But yeah, that was a grinder.
But like I said, we made it through it. Shout out to the trainer.
They gave me all the things I needed to keep me on a football field.”
He was listed with an illness before kickoff, but he still dressed and played. Kittle finished with five catches on six targets for 24 yards in San Francisco’s 32-29 win, a result that pushed the 49ers to 5-0 and dropped Seattle to 3-2.
For Kittle, it was a quieter day than usual. Through the first four weeks, he had already stacked up 16 catches for 244 yards and four touchdowns.
There was at least one bit of good news on the recovery front: the schedule. Kittle said he was glad San Francisco’s next game comes on Monday night instead of Thursday, giving him an extra day to get right.
The 49ers will host the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football on Oct. 19, and they’ll be hoping Kittle is much closer to full strength when they try to keep the unbeaten run going.
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