49ers placing George Kittle on injured reserve

The San Francisco 49ers have officially moved George Kittle to injured reserve after the star tight end tweaked his hamstring in Sunday’s Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The setback means the 31-year-old will be sidelined for at least the next four games.

The call came just a day after head coach Kyle Shanahan admitted Kittle was likely to miss "a few weeks." The four-time Pro Bowler picked up the injury in the second quarter, cutting short what had started as a promising afternoon. Before exiting, he had already hauled in four catches for 25 yards and scored San Francisco’s first touchdown of the new campaign in the opening frame.

Heading into Week 1, George Kittle looked like one of the few pillars of health in San Francisco's offense, with Christian McCaffrey and much of the wideout corps battling knocks throughout the summer. But even the Niners' ironman wasn't spared for long.

Before exiting against Seattle, Kittle still managed four grabs for 25 yards and the team’s first touchdown of 2025. It was a reminder of why he's been such a cornerstone in Kyle Shanahan's system. Just last season, he logged his fourth career 1,000-yard campaign, piling up 1,106 yards and eight scores on 78 receptions. Now in his ninth year, the six-time Pro Bowler has racked up an impressive 7,405 yards and 46 touchdowns in his career.

For fantasy football players, though, this is a gut punch. Kittle was drafted as one of the top-three tight ends, right behind Brock Bowers of the Raiders and Trey McBride of the Cardinals. His average draft slot was 34th overall, meaning most managers burned a third-round pick on him in 12-team leagues. Losing that kind of investment for the next three to five weeks stings.

The truth is, there's no plug-and-play replacement sitting on waivers who'll match Kittle's value. Managers will need to dig for upside, maybe swing for a boom-or-bust streamer or stash a high-ceiling option and hope lightning strikes.

The injury worries keep piling up in San Francisco. Alongside George Kittle's hamstring setback, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that quarterback Brock Purdy is also dealing with a pair of knocks, a sore left shoulder and a toe problem, leaving his status for Week 2's clash in New Orleans up in the air. Shanahan admitted he couldn’t give any assurances, noting that Purdy's availability will hinge on how his body responds over the coming days.

The toe injury, sustained during Sunday’s hard-fought win over Seattle, appears to be the bigger concern of the two, according to Shanahan.

If Purdy is ultimately forced to watch from the sidelines, the Niners will lean on veteran Mac Jones. The former first-rounder isn't new to the backup spotlight, having filled in for Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville last season. Over 10 outings, seven of them starts, Jones posted a level 8-to-8 touchdown-to-interception tally while keeping the Jags’ offense ticking.