49ers star George Kittle confident he'll return from Achilles injury in Week 1
49ers tight end George Kittle speaks to reporters after San Francisco's practice on Wednesday in Santa Clara.
49ers star George Kittle confident he'll return from Achilles injury in Week 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
Howdy.
Oh, that's loud how are you doing, and then where are you in, in your process right now?
Well, thanks for asking.
I'm doing great today.
Had a wonderful day.
It's a beautiful day.
Boys are playing football.
Me personally, I'm doing awesome.
My wife's a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.
Good for me.
and my Achilles is doing great.
no setbacks in my recovery, checking all the boxes, doing everything I'm supposed to do.
My surgeon's super happy.
my physical therapist in LA who works with him is super happy.
Niners are happy.
I'm happy.
You have been pretty optimistic that there's at least a chance for week one.
Is, is that, does that feel realistic to you here on June 3rd?
realistic?
Yeah, I mean, at this point.
I mean, when, even when I had the surgery and Elatrache told me, he said, "Hey, I think if you just take this, like, if you do everything the right way, you have a chance," I mean, it definitely, ignites something and makes you push for it.
So, you know, we're on track.
We're ahead of schedule.
Australia throw a complication into that, a, a 16 and a half hour flight?
Playing four days early and a 16-hour flight?
No.
Not at all.
Just another challenge.
That's all it is.
What does happen on a long plane trip when, when you, when you are recovering from, from an injury like that?
Couldn't say.
I've never done it.
I don't I just know, like, we fly so much, our average flight's five, six hours, so, like, to me it, it is what it is.
Like, we're going to work.
It's an awesome opportunity to play in Australia.
it'll be a really fun playing around home if we win.
That's our goal, go over there, play in front of an awesome crowd, huge stadium, 110,000 people.
I mean, it sounds sick to me.
Like, might as well just take advantage of it.
What were your thoughts when you heard the Rams traded for Miles Garrett?
good for them.
I mean, nothing I can do about it, but they traded for him for a reason.
we've, we're in a very good division.
It's gonna be a really fun challenge.
Anything change in your routine, as you are trying to come back, like you said, possibly ahead of schedule, to make sure that you're kinda keeping your body in the right condition to do so?
I mean, I got, like, back to 100% body weight jogging two weeks ago, maybe three weeks ago, and so, like, I haven't really been able to do too much.
And so at this point it's just, like, there's just boxes you have to check before they're, they clear you to do something else.
And then once I'm actually allowed to go train the way I wanna train, then it'll be just really fun to be able to go back and doing all the football movements I wanna do, run blocking, pass pro, running routes, catching the ball.
So, then it's just, hey, knock some of the rust off, 'cause I haven't done a lot since January, and, just get back out there.
What were you able to do today?
For you, when we talked to Nick, obviously it's a different injury- Sure it's knee.
but he kind of talked through the mental process that he took trying to get better and get back.
How has that been for you since, I mean, you seemed like you were in good spirits when you left, I mean- Mm-hmm locker clean-out when we talked to you, but how has that process of recovery been for you?
really easy, honestly.
It's, like, my first major injury in my career.
Let's knock on wood for that.
and like I said, like, when the unfortunately, like, I missed one game.
That sucks.
it was a playoff game, but then they tell me I have an opportunity to play week one, it's like, all right, well, there's not half the season gone.
Like, I, as long as I do what I'm supposed to do, work incredibly hard, maybe do some extra things that I'm allowed to do, hell, I'll make it work.
And so, like, it's been a pretty easy mental process for me.
What were you able to do today, and did you lose a bunch of weight this off-season and have to put it on like you did in the past?
No, not necessarily.
I only dropped, like, probably 10 pounds this off-season, and I mean, I'm heavier now than I was last year playing, which is not a bad thing.
I usually like to be a little heavy before training camp.
was able to do today, a lot of single leg hops, and then we're just kinda like a ramp-up period.
20, 30-yard jogs, which is pretty fun.
Just get off starts and felt great.
I mean, this was the most I've ran today actually, and we're 19 weeks to the day.
When you're, watching practice, you see, Mike Evans out there.
Ha.
Can the imagination run a little wild thinking about how he and you can pair up together to, you know, put pressure on opposing defenses?
my initial answer to that is every single day that I see Mike, I just go, "Wow, Mike Evans is here."
And I think I'm annoying him at this point, but it's still, I pinch myself every day.
I also, like, if you look back at the 49ers, this is, like, the first, like, legit veteran wide receiver I've had on my roster since Emmanuel Sanders in 2019, in my opinion.
And, like, nothing against all the other veteran receivers I've had, but he's a Hall of Famer who's a first team All-Pro, Pro Bowl guy.
Like, he's an incredible wide receiver, and, like, just to see him run routes and the way that he sees things, it's just so fun.
Like, 'cause, like, Emmanuel Sanders, 'cause that was my third year when I had Emmanuel Sanders, and he was super savvy.
He did some cool things to get open and stuff like that.
But, like, Mike Evans just brings a whole new thing.
I mean, you guys weren't here at red zone.
I think he had three to five touchdowns in the first day.
Like, he's incredible.
And so that by itself is really fun, and I think, like, just he takes ball incredibly seriously, and I think that just kind of sets the tone for the wide receiver room, especially when you have a bunch of young guys in there.
I think it's just very beneficial to the Niners that he's here, and it's not just his play-make ability, but just how he treats it every single day.
So the recruiting process you did with him?
That's legal, right?
I don't know.
I don't think I can get in trouble.
Can I, Corey?
He's not listening.
let's see.
He just hit me up, probably, like, a couple days before, like, the free agency process was open, was like, "Hey, like, you just tell me about the Niners."
I was like, "Well, what do you wanna know?"
He just asked me, like, our practices, our facilities, and how the players are taken care of, which I think are all top-notch.
I mean, Jed York takes such good care of us, and all the money he puts back into us.
So from the massage therapist, acupuncturist, the great cafeteria that we have with the really clean food, how much time and energy they spend on, like, getting us to be our best selves, the practice schedule.
I mean, so he just was kind of a fan of that.
He was a big fan of how we travel, like, with the lay downs and stuff, and he's like, "Yep, I never had that."
And I was likeIt's crazy, but welcome to the 49ers.
And then we talked again a couple days later and just kind of reiterated some of the same things, and he was just really excited about it.
Last year at this time, we were asking about Lunfall.
The roster reset that kind of took place with all, all the young guys coming in.
Mm-hmm.
How different was it this year to, to kind of get back to, like, adding veterans who can help you win now?
And, and how important was it you, to have the year you had last year to put you in position where you could kind of push back in?
yeah, I mean, yeah.
Last year was definitely different.
We had a lot of, I felt like, randomness to it.
But, like, somehow we won 13 games with, like, half of our team, which was just like a testament to this team and the foundation we build as leaders.
and then this year, you know, it's just fun seeing everybody around, and then I will say, like, this has been a really fun rookie class for me.
I've thoroughly enjoyed them.
like, I always try to tell rookies that the only way that you want people to know who you are is, like, what you do on the field, and not because of, like, you tell jokes and you're funny.
Like, you don't need that, especially at the start of your career.
And, this has been, like, the quietest rookie class I've ever been around.
But like, hey, you wanna have a conversation with them, they'll definitely talk to you, which is really fun.
But they're not They, they, they understand that you're here to work, and I've thoroughly enjoyed that process so far.
And, like, from And I know, I know the offensive guys a little bit better than the defensive guys, but I'm really happy with our offensive rookies.
I mean, how happy are you for Fleury to, to get that Seattle job and, and give us your impressions on the new, your new tight end coach.
it's I'm just stoked for Fleury.
I mean, he was a guy who, I think he was, like, the, he was the offensive coordinator of Towson at the age of 27, and then he Maybe not Towson, but something like that.
But he, just grinded and grinded, and then he was my assistant tight ends coach, and then he was my tight ends coach, and he was a run game coordinator, and now he's an OC, and, he's an absolutely brilliant person and an awesome dude.
So, couldn't be happy for him and his family.
I don't really wish him that much success, but, I am stoked for him and his family 'cause he works really hard for it and he puts a lot of hours into it.
So, he's a guy who definitely deserves it.
And what else did you ask?
And Cam?
Cam's been really fun.
I mean, I've gotten to know him a little bit over the last couple years being with the offensive line.
it's a, it's a fun room 'cause he used to play, so, like, he has his own vibe for what the room should be like, which is awesome.
he kinda lets me soapbox once in a while.
and then it's kind of fun, too, because he's so invested in the offensive line, so, like, he knows everything about all of the run calls and all of the pass game calls, like, just protection-wise.
And so, like, just hearing that conversation is a way for me to learn something new.
And so, like, now I, like, now we're not all the way there yet, but, like, just when, how he installs it and, like, he knows all the code words and all that stuff, which has, like, just kind of been, I'm like, "I don't really need to know it, but if I do know it, it's helpful."
So, like, that's been kind of cool to listen to him talk about that stuff.
So, definitely picking up some things on that.
And, like, just a guy who, he loves the run game.
I love the run game.
We're gonna mesh on that.
it's a little bit, you know, us back and forth in the pass game stuff, running routes and stuff, 'cause he is an offensive lineman, but overall he's a very smart guy and he's very good at coaching.
I'll give him that.
He's doing a great job so far.
What kind of ambassador stuff do you have to do for the World Cup, and what are your plans for the next month?
I'll be in Nashville.
You guys have fun in the Bay.
Yeah, I'll be in Nashville.
Juice will be here.
You guys got him.
He's fantastic.
I might be in New York for the final.
Who knows?
Can't really pass that one up.
You say th- rookies don't need to make jokes.
Not necessarily.
I'm just like, I don't wanna hear your voice more than I see you play on a football field.
Like, you wanna impress everybody with how you're playing.
Like, you wanna go out My rookie OTAs, like, my rookie year, I don't know if you guys remember this, but, like, you can ask Bobby Turner.
He's like, "I didn't even know George Kittle had a voice."
Like, he just I never talked in meetings.
You did not hear me at all, at all, at, any of the time because I just was just focusing on football.
And, like, that's what And I had great OTAs, and, like, that's the only reason Joe Staley knew who I was, was 'cause I made plays in OTAs.
Like, that's what you want as a rookie.
Like, I don't need you to be loudmouth.
I don't need you to be talking crap to everybody.
Like, I don't need that.
And, like, you can, you can still be a great football player.
I'm just saying, like, for my 10 years, which is a crazy thing to say, being here for all these OTAs, the guys who are quiet and just go to work are usually the more successful guys.
Jokes.
Me?
Second year.
Immediately.
Yeah.
Immediately.
Me and Garrett Celek just clowns.
Last one.
Can I get Lunfall?
That's the fourth time you've said last fall on Chris.
What's up?
What are your first impressions of P. Lunfall and George Kittle?
Very fast.
Very fast and very mature.
What is he, 25?
I like old rookies because, you know, they're ready to play, and you don't have to go through that immaturity part of the start, which, like, it's just when you play with mature players, they kind of understand, like, the sense of urgency is what I would say.
Like, they're just ready for it.
and that's been really cool.
Thanks, guys.
