The San Francisco 49ers have placed George Kittle on injured reserve Saturday, downgrading his status from doubtful to out for Sunday’s showdown with the Arizona Cardinals. Kittle will miss at least the next three games with a calf injury, as the 49ers felt he could be dealing with the injury throughout the year.
With Kittle on injured reserve, the 49ers are giving him the time to heal and get to 100% for the second half of the season. Kittle has 19 catches for 227 yards (11.9 yards per catch) with zero touchdowns this season. Kittle is fourth amongst tight ends in receiving yards and fifth in receptions.
Kittle is one of the best tight ends in the NFL when healthy, but he missed eight games last season and will miss at least three games this year. Since the start of the 2018 season, Kittle ranks third amongst tight ends in receptions (240), second in receiving yards (3,291), and first in yards per target (9.85) amongst players with 100-plus targets.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan reiterated Kittle has no injury to his knee. It’s just his calf — a good sign for a team that needs its best pass catcher healthy. With Kittle out, Ross Dwelley will get the start at tight end.
Is it Trey Lance time? What about Jimmy G? Download the CBS Sports app and get the latest 49ers news, all from our team of veteran reporters. If you have the CBS Sports app, make sure to set the Niners as your favorite team and get news delivered to your fingertips.
