San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle exited Sunday's season-opening 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks due to a hamstring injury, and wide receiver Jauan Jennings left with a shoulder injury.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game that both players will undergo MRIs to check the severity of their injuries.
A six-time Pro Bowler, Kittle was injured during the first half and was ruled out of the contest late in the second quarter.
Kittle caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the first
quarter to open the scoring and had four receptions on four targets for 25 yards before exiting. Jennings caught two passes on five targets for 16 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter.
Jake Tonges, San Francisco's third-string tight end, filled in for Kittle and caught quarterback Brock Purdy's deflected pass for a 4-yard touchdown with 1:34 left in the game. Tonges, who had no career receptions in 20 NFL games, including 16 in 2024 with the 49ers, finished with three catches on three targrets for 15 yards and the TD.
Kittle, 31, caught 78 passes for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns last season, his eighth campaign with San Francisco since being a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. He has four career 1,000-yard seasons.
Kittle became the highest-paid tight end in NFL history in the offseason when he signed a four-year, $76.4 million extension ($19.1 million average) through 2029.
Jennings, 28, entered his fifth season with San Francisco with 155 career receptions for 1,938 yards and 13 touchdowns in 60 regular-season games (17 starts) from 2021-24. He also has 20 catches for 221 yards and one TD in nine playoff games (no starts) from 2021-23. The 49ers selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft.
--Field Level Media
