George Kittle to Patrick Mahomes on 49ers trade: ‘I just work there’

The 49ers’ blockbuster NFL Draft trade took both George Kittle and Patrick Mahomes by surprise, and they had a unique exchange about it.

If the San Francisco 49ers weren’t already making waves with some of their noticeable free-agent re-signings and acquisitions earlier this offseason, their blockbuster move with the Miami Dolphins sure caught plenty of attention.

According to the breaking report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Niners are moving up from No. 12 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft to No. 3, sending off a number of later draft picks with the full intention of grabbing a quarterback, the latter confirmed by NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.

The news came as quite a shock to All-Pro tight end George Kittle, understandably so.

Kittle wasn’t the only one who was blown away by the news. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also joined in on the conversation, to which Kittle eventually responded, “I just work there I don’t know what’s going on” with an emoji:

https://twitter.com/gkittle46/status/1375510608196431874

The blockbuster trade has massive ramifications for San Francisco’s situation under center.

This means, of course, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s time in a 49ers uniform is limited. Schefter also reported the Niners were still committed to Garoppolo “this year,” but any speculation Garoppolo will stick around with the team beyond 2021 has all but gone out the door.

Apparently, San Francisco’s plan is now to select a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick and let him develop behind Jimmy G for at least one more season before taking over the starting reigns.

And if that development goes well enough, perhaps that rookie winds up taking over sooner than later.

George Kittle has been one of Jimmy Garoppolo’s biggest supporters

Aside from the bromance both Kittle and Garoppolo displayed over the majority of the 49ers’ Super Bowl run in 2019 and into 2020, the tight end has remained one of Jimmy G’s most ardent boosters despite an offseason full of criticism and speculation the Niners would move on.

Earlier this offseason, Kittle told CBS Sports HQ “Jimmy G handles it the right way. He just shows up and he goes to work. He sets an example for the rest of the team.”

There’s more than enough evidence of the great locker-room chemistry between Garoppolo and Kittle, and one can fairly question just how much San Francisco’s blockbuster trade could potentially shake that up.

At the same time, though, the 49ers have never been shy about their desire to improve across all positions when possible.

And it would appear the Niners are trying to take advantage of this possibility.

George Kittle might be disappointed in San Francisco eventually moving on from Garoppolo. But if a new quarterback provides a massive boost under center for the next decade or so, it’s hard to envision the All-Pro tight end being too upset about that.