George Kittle on Jimmy Garoppolo: ‘He sets an example’ for 49ers

While speculation still surrounds Jimmy Garoppolo and his future with the 49ers, George Kittle continues to provide his unwavering support.

In spite of all the talk about the San Francisco 49ers potentially moving on from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, All-Pro tight end George Kittle has remains one of the embattled signal-caller’s staunchest allies.

Many of Kittle’s prior remarks preceded much of the offseason chatter suggesting Garoppolo could be on the move, either in a cap-saving effort by the Niners to clear up $24.1 million in space or in a move to upgrade a position in the wake of Garoppolo missing all but six games in 2020.

But with rumors starting to die down about San Francisco potentially moving on, Kittle’s endorsements still continue as one might expect them to.

Recently, Kittle joined CBS Sports HQ to chat some fantasy football and how he’d mesh the perfect tight end, which clearly included himself and other top pass-catchers at the position including the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Darren Waller.

Not surprisingly, Garoppolo came up in the discussion.

“I mean I don’t daydream about new quarterbacks,” Kittle said. “I really like my quarterback. I just focus on playing with Jimmy G. I believe in Jimmy that he’s going to be our starting quarterback in this upcoming season.”

CBS Sports’ Jamey Eisenberg listed Kittle as the No. 3 fantasy tight end entering 2021, based largely on Kittle’s ability to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2020 campaign along with more consistency and production at quarterback.

The former might apply more, at least in terms of fantasy, considering Kittle set a single-season record for most receiving yards by a tight end back in 2018 with Garoppolo appearing in just three games before suffering an ACL tear that year. At least in that regard, whoever is under center in 2021 shouldn’t apply.

Getting back to Jimmy G, though, Kittle remained steadfast in his endorsements.

“Jimmy G handles it the right way,” Kittle added. “He just shows up and he goes to work. He sets an example for the rest of the team. I’m just excited to get another opportunity to get on the field with Jimmy, especially when he’s healthy, because I think he’s a heck of a quarterback.”

49ers locker-room chemistry does matter with Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle

One of the possible knocks against Garoppolo could be he hasn’t exactly established himself as a team leader despite multiple players, including Kittle, stating otherwise.

That said, there’s little doubting Kittle’s importance to the team. His fun-loving, outgoing personality has resulted in Kittle becoming something of a cult hero, both with his teammates and within the fanbase. Starting late in 2019, both Kittle and Jimmy G embraced in a kind of “bromance” with each other, which included the two gifting each other t-shirts of themselves marked with autographs and all.

Whether or not this translates over into locker-room leadership can be debatable. But it doesn’t take much to realize this sort of friendly banter and exchange back and forth can lighten the mood amid what was a challenging offseason for all teams, not just San Francisco.

And coming off an injury-plagued 2020 campaign for nearly everyone associated with the 49ers, this kind of relationship could help matters, too.

It’s important to factor in chemistry just as much as on-field play and abilities.

Granted, Kittle did add the part about “daydreaming” of other quarterbacks, and it’s hard to ignore the prospects of the tight end playing with one of the elite-level signal-callers possibly out there on the market.

For now, though, it doesn’t appear as if George Kittle is openly ready and willing to see the Niners move on from Jimmy Garoppolo.