NEWSLETTER
The Bears aren’t alone in having a key cog of their offense whose status is up-in-the-air for Week 1.
But 49ers tight end George Kittle being questionable to play on Sunday moves the needle differently than Bears receiver Velus Jones Jr. listed as doubtful. Here’s word from Niners camp:
Even with a “questionable” designation, the expectation for Kittle’s playing status is all over the map:
There is a realistic chance that Kittle doesn’t play on Sunday. But it sure seems like a long shot (at least in the eyes of some who believe he’s going to give it his all to play).
Kittle comes off as the type of player willing to gut it out through injury to play in Week 1. And with the Bears on the schedule, it is tough to imagine Kittle sitting out an opportunity to play against the team he grew up rooting for as a youngster. But on the other hand, San Francisco’s brass might not want to risk worsening the injury knowing that there are bigger fish to fry in the team’s other 16 games after Week 1. Striking a balance for the Niners figures to be difficult. After all, they probably want all hands on deck in support of Trey Lance’s first start. It’s just that Kittle’s injury mucks that up a bit.
We’ll monitor the situation over the next few days. It is possible that we’ll know more on Saturday, especially if Kittle doesn’t take the flight with his teammates to Chicago. But he could very well take that flight, making his status a game-time decision. So stay tuned.
