Kyle Juszczyk Sparks Week 1 Optimism for George Kittle's Achilles Recovery
After witnessing George Kittle's explosive change-of-direction drills, Kyle Juszczyk believes the All-Pro tight end could defy medical timelines for a high-stakes season opener in Melbourne.
Video Transcript
Will George Kittle be fully cleared to participate when the physical contact of training camp resumes on July 26th?
Mathematically, it's almost certainly not.
But when the conversation shifts to will he be available week one, his teammates have a massive wave of optimism.
Again, this week in the American Century Championship Golf Tournament in South Lake Tahoe, Kyle Juszczyk was asked about his impression of George Kittle's tight end university and his return to the field.
He said, I really did feel that way, Juszczyk shared regarding the tight end's accelerated recovery trajectory.
I was so impressed by the way he was moving, and I was impressed the last week of OTAs how he was moving.
He was doing this zigzag drill, and he told me he had reached like 16 miles an hour that day.
I was already impressed with that, but then seeing him go through that warmup, I was like, wow, I really do think there is a chance that he's ready for week one.
Kittle originally provided a medical update a couple weeks ago confirming that his physical benchmarks were moving significantly ahead of schedule.
The crucial caveat, however, is that his baseline ahead-of-schedule target was originally mapped out for mid-November.
Shifting that target forward to week one in early September represents a monumental developmental leap.
Having an extra two months of regular season availability would completely alter the offense's ceiling.
The urgency to accelerate his timeline becomes clear when you look at the unique scheduling of the 49ers season.
The 49ers are slated to kick off the season, the regular season against division rival the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, September 10th in a global stage at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds in Australia.
Ultimately, while hitting 60 miles per hour on a GPS tracking device during change of direction drills is an elite developmental sign, the front office must walk an incredibly fine line.
A mid-November target exists for a reason.
Rushing an explosive 32-year-old athlete back onto a cricket field before his injury is completely healed and ready to go is risking a catastrophic secondary setback.
