Iowa great and 49ers star tight end George Kittle made his return to practice on Monday as he ramps up for a possible Week 1 return against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10 in Australia. Kittle took part in team drills for the first time since tearing his Achilles against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 11.
The 6-foot-4, 250-pound tight end has maintained all along that he would return to the field earlier than expected and that the injury was a best-case scenario based upon where the tear occurred.
Kittle's return to team drills comes a day after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Kittle was expected to practice this week. Schefter reported that Kittle hasn't had any setbacks in his recovery and that he has a legitimate chance to play
against the Rams to open San Francisco's 2026 season.
George Kittle ramping up 🔥📈
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) August 31, 2026
(@mattblively) pic.twitter.com/k2T32rQI4P
“We are going to get them out there in these three days and hope it goes well,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Kittle and Nick Bosa on Monday. “With three days before we go, we are balancing it out with both of them. We don’t want them to go three days in a row, so we are going to do a little on some of these days and more on one.
“Both of them are on a little bit different schedule with the three (practices).”
Kittle previously indicated that it would make more sense for him to stay put in the Bay Area if he's not going to play in the 49ers' opener, given the 16-hour flight time to Melbourne.
"If we didn’t think he was going to play though, or it’s looking that way, I think it’d be much nicer to make that decision before we left instead of having to go through all that.
“It’s also a long time that we’re out there, so to be away from the team for a week would be, not for camaraderie, but from a training standpoint, being away from from meetings is a big deal, too. But hopefully these three days we have, these three practices will go the right way, and it will make it an easy decision," Shanahan said Monday.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: 49ers' George Kittle makes return to practice before Rams opener
