49ers suffer most devastating injury possible in Week 1 opener vs. Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers have a painful relationship with injuries, but the hope was an increasingly healthy squad would be at 100 percent on the eve of the regular season.

One player who didn't deal with any injuries during training camp or the preseason was tight end George Kittle, who was eyeing 2025 as an opportunity to continue his legendary climb up franchise leaderboards.

After notching the Niners' first touchdown of the season in Week 1's road bout versus the Seattle Seahawks, it seemed all was well on that front.

Unfortunately, that's about the only good news regarding Kittle from the contest.

George Kittle ruled OUT from 49ers' Week 1 opener vs. Seahawks

Kittle wasn't observed suffering any sort of on-field injury, unlike linebacker Fred Warner's scary moment where it appeared he took a cleat to the face.

Instead, Kittle was absent from the offense toward the second half, and NFL GSIS made the initial announcement about the tight end being ruled out for the rest of the game with what was then an undisclosed injury, also confirmed by NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco:

Shortly thereafter, the Fox broadcast crew confirmed Kittle was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, citing a hamstring injury.

Obviously, it's not good news for a San Francisco squad that was not only beset by too many injuries during training camp and the preseason, but also one that dealt with far too many injuries last season.

Minus wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee), who isn't scheduled to return until approximately Week 6, head coach Kyle Shanahan's offense can ill-afford to be without Kittle for an extended period of time. While it's a bonus to have running back Christian McCaffrey back from a minor calf issue that arose during the week, he and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings are about the only legitimate options to hold the line.

Needless to say, Shanahan's comments on Kittle after the game will be of note.