Kyle Juszczyk on playing late into his career: 'I want to do this thing as long as I possibly can'
San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk joins "The Insiders" for an interview.
Video Transcript
I'm gonna jump today, dude.
How do you feel about not around?
W. Oh Nice 71 yarder to open it up.
Now you're loose .
Got him.
Hey, we got some horses in the stable now.
Come on, buddy, couldn't have said it better.
Hey, we got some dogs in that kennel.
Horses in the stable, dogs in the kennel, 10 Pro Bowls on the wall on the mantle to all pros to get that number up.
Still some time for Kyle over the course of his career.
Most Pro Bowls, read the fine print, ladies and gentlemen, most Pro Bowls by a fullback all time and at least his 2nd appearance on the insiders.
Kyle joining us right now here on the program.
If you need to spell it, it's right down there at the bottom.
Uh, not on the tail end of minicamp.
Kyle Shanahan canceling minicamp as a veteran at this point in your career.
Your reaction to that is what?
Man, I love it.
For me, that's fantastic.
I, I, I don't need minicamp anymore, but, um, I, I think he had a good reason, man.
I think the team is in a really good position, um, guys are healthy, the, the young guys have done a really good job since they've been there, and I just think we're in a good spot, and I, I just don't think we needed it right now.
You know, a lot of teams are kind of going through it right now, like you mentioned, and you know there's been some fireworks this offseason in a way that we don't often see.
Obviously we know the Rams acquired Miles Garrett.
A couple of other interesting moves have happened, you know, in a generally sleepy June month.
You guys made your fireworks early with the addition of Mike Evans and others.
You got to see Mike Evans and some of the other new additions this spring.
What did you think?
Man , Mike has been so impressive, and that's, I feel like that's saying so much because we were expecting so much.
Um, you know, this is a guy, you know, we all say we, he, he's a bona fide Hall of Famer, what was it 9 or 1011 straight 1000 yard seasons.
So like your expectations are already high, and I feel like he's already exceeded that.
Um, he has been unguardable at practice, uh, red zone has been an absolute problem, and What a great guy, like what a great teammate.
Uh, I think everyone has already enjoyed his, uh, his presence so much, and I think he's gonna be an incredible leader for that room, and I, it's hard to imagine a better addition than Mike has been so far.
That's awesome.
Love Mike, I love watching Mike, love covering Mike.
Excited to see him with the 49ers in that new uniform.
Look, um, Kyle, Ian alluded to it.
Let's get right into it, uh , here with the Rams and the headlines that they're getting for the move that they made there for Miles Garrett and what they've done this offseason.
Uh, I don't know if it's a bulletin board or if it's a smart board these days, but you got the, the Super Bowl champs in your division, and you got the offseason champs in your division.
It's gotta be there and being talked about like, hey, ladies and gentlemen, don't forget about us, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, we're not, uh, there, there's no easy games here out in the NFC West for sure.
Uh, but we feel great about where our team's at.
Uh, the fact that we won 13 games last season with all that we had to deal with, um, I think, you know, that's, that's easy to forget, and, and rightfully so, you know, the, the Seahawks, they won a Super Bowl, uh, the Rams had a great season and they've had some great additions in the offseason, so, um, I can understand why that is the case, but, Uh, I think we feel great about where we're at, man.
I love our squad.
Uh, I think that we have only improved.
Um, guys are getting healthy, uh, you know, we added Mike Evans and Osa on defense, which I think both of those guys are just gonna make such an impact.
And I, I, I think we're sitting in a good spot, man.
If, if people wanna forget about us, that's, that's fantastic.
That's a, that's a good place to be sometimes.
You know, it is possible when you guys start the 2026 season you will not be at full strength.
Status of George Kittle very much up in the air, obviously working his way back from a torn Achilles.
That is your partner in crime.
I know you want him healthy, but I also know you want him back.
How is he and how do you kind of handle that part of watching your buddy rehab and, you know, wanting him back, but also wanting him to be 100%?
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
I mean, Uh, George looks great.
Uh, you know, as he mentioned, uh, you know, somewhere a couple of days ago, like, he really is ahead of schedule.
Um, he was impressive just last week, uh, seeing him running, um, you know, zigzags, like making cuts, actually like hitting like 16 MPH or something like that.
Uh, I, I've been super impressed and, you know, he's got another 2 months or so to get even better, and You know, it's, it's been, it's been enjoyable to watch him go through this process because he attacks it as such a professional.
Um, he makes it a point to no matter what we're doing, you know, whether, even when we're down in Cabo and we're celebrating McCaffrey's birthday and we're golfing, like, that guy finds a time to rehab.
Whether it's early in the morning, late at night, like that, he is always, always grinding, it's always on the back of his mind.
And I really do think he's gonna, you know, beat some expected timetables, and when he does come back, whenever that is, um, I think he's gonna come out there and be the George Kittle that we all know and love.
Ian talked about how tight, uh, you are with George.
Your wife's tight as well.
I gotta see a mannequin over your right shoulder.
We got a couple of looks in the background.
Are you in Kristen's sewing room right there?
Uh, how excited are you for what she's been able to do?
Yep, I'm, I'm in, uh, my wife's office right now, and I'm, I'm so excited about what Kristen has built, and, uh, you know, she just named the Times 100 most influential people in sports for 2026, which, oh my gosh, you know, just a few years ago, um.
That would be just such a crazy notion, you know, like she wasn't, you know, didn't grow up as a sports girl, but she has made it her own, and I'm so proud of, uh, everything that she's built, and offseason, um, has been such a success, and it's continuing to build and build and build.
So, hey, offseasonbrand.com, people go check it out.
There you go, good husband, Kyle, great job.
Uh, we, we came into this talking about your 10 Pro Bowls, your all-pros.
You're 35 years old, you have played certainly far longer than many have at your position, though you've always been, um, a little bit of an anomaly at the fullback position.
Considering what you've accomplished, considering that you're still playing at a very high level, uh, how is your offseason going personally and then how long do you want to keep doing this?
Great, great questions, and hey.
In my defense on that opening about, you know, the only the two all-pros, about 11 years of my career, there was no all-pro for a fullback, OK, so, ah, take it easy on that.
Um, but man, I, I just, I feel so good and I'm still having so much fun.
Uh, I'm in zero pain whatsoever, and like you said, I feel like I'm still playing at such a high level.
Um, so I wanna just continue to do this thing as long as I possibly can.
Uh, it's been such a great offseason, like, OTAs were so enjoyable and I still feel like I'm growing.
Like, I spent this whole, um, this whole offseason and during OTAs and all that, meeting with the tight ends, um, practicing with the tight ends, to just kinda continue to build and continue to grow, uh, and I still feel like I'm doing that even at 35 years old, so I haven't put a number on when I want to end, but, uh, as it stands right now, I, I'm just gonna keep going till the wheels fall off .
So here's what, and that nowhere uh soon by the way, uh, here's what we're gonna do.
You know how like Sacks was an official stat and they kind of went back and, and, and added some numbers for guys.
We're gonna do that for you, for all pros.
Do we wanna get greedy?
Like I'll, I'll put the number at about 8.
What do you think?
Should we go all the way to 10?
Well, shoot, you know, there's, there's, there was a couple of years where I was still making , you know, making my name in there, so I'll take 8.
I think 8 is fair.
OK, there it is.
8-time all-pro fullback, Kyle Uszczyk.
Put the asterisk there, that's fine.
We, we got no problem doing that.
Uh, but that's the number that he deserves, and he deserves all the time on the insiders that he gets.
We appreciate you, dude.
Get some rest, you and Kristen, go someplace, uh, nice and warm and fancy.
Enjoy the next couple of weeks , we'll see you in training camp soon enough.
All right, thanks guys.
Good talking with you.
Thank you, man.
