Last season, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle pointed out that Fred Warner had company when asked about the All-Pro linebacker playing with a fractured bone in his right ankle.
“Everybody’s dealing with something. And not everybody shares it all the time,” Kittle said. “So, yeah, Fred’s a warrior. And this whole team is full of warriors that play with all sorts of issues all the time.”
It turns out that one of those players was Kittle
In a 30-13 victory over the Patriots on September 29, the same game in which Warner hurt his ankle, Kittle also suffered a major injury when he crashed to the ground after making a 12-yard touchdown catch by jumping between three defenders.
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“I was playing with fractured ribs and then that (reception) completely fractured them,” Kittle said on the “Up & Adams Show” this month during Super Bowl week. “It was super fun. I had a great time.”
Kittle’s revelation about his injury makes his stellar 2024 season even more impressive. At 31 years old, Kittle had the most receptions (78) since 2019 and the second most yards (1,106) of his eight-season career, while scoring eight touchdowns, the most on the team. Kittle missed two games, due to separate hamstring injuries, and played in five consecutive games after suffering a fractured rib.
In a 6-11 season, Kittle was one of the few bright spots. He was voted to his sixth Pro Bowl and received the Len Eshmont Award, essentially the team’s MVP, in a vote by his teammates.
Kittle’s performance seemingly ensured he would remain part of the 49ers’ future and will likely sign a contract extension this offseason with his deal set to expire after the 2025 season. Kittle said during Super Bowl week that he thought there had already been “conversations” between the 49ers and his agent, which might surprise some considering the 49ers are known for their protracted contract negotiations that generally extend into the summer.
However, it might be advisable for the 49ers to move quickly when it comes to Kittle’s deal. In fact, that may be among their orders of business, along with finding a trade partner for wide receiver Deebo Samuel, beginning Monday when the NFL Combine begins in Indianapolis.
Kittle’s contract restructuring
The 49ers have restructured Kittle’s contract since he signed a five-year, $75 million extension in 2020, resulting in a large salary cap hit this season. Kittle is scheduled to count $22.02 million against the cap, the second-highest figure on the team behind Warner ($29.17 million), and the 49ers could significantly reduce that figure with an extension.
That money could come in handy with free agency beginning March 12, and with the 49ers also talking to quarterback Brock Purdy’s agent about an extension that could average at least $50 million annually.
Kittle smiled during an interview with the Chronicle last season when he recalled the 49ers’ initial lowball offers in 2020. The 49ers eventually made Kittle the highest-paid tight end in the league with his contract averaging $15 million annually, and the market at the position hasn’t changed much in the past five years. Kittle is now behind only Kansas City’s Travis Kelce ($17.1 million) and Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson ($16.5 million).
Given that, along with the 49ers being financially incentivized to get a deal done, it’s possible that the latest negotiations could be smoother than Kittle’s talks in 2020, which ultimately ended on the eve of the start of training camp. However, regardless of the timing, it seems Kittle has a good chance of making his goal of retiring with the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 2017 a reality.
