A San Francisco 49ers team that was already banged up went into Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks went into this game crossing their fingers that no more players would end up on the injury report, but the misfortune hanging over this team has led to two more cornerstones getting dinged up.
In addition to starting quarterback Brock Purdy suffering a pair of ailments that could put his availability for Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints in doubt, starting tight end George Kittle suffered such a serious hamstring injury that he will need to miss at least the next month's worth of games.
Kittle has officially been placed on injured reserve, which will keep him out for the next four games. The 49ers are already down to many of their backup pass-catchers after a nightmarish start to the 2025 season health-wise, and the Kittle injury took things from bad to worse.
49ers place star tight end George Kittle on injured reserve
Kittle, who caught four passes for 25 yards against Seattle before leaving the game, figured to be the focal point of the passing game while Brandon Aiyuk nursed his own injury. If Jauan Jennings is healthy, he and second-year man Ricky Pearsall could be in for a boatload of targets.
In terms of replacements at the tight end spot, San Francisco will likely try to tread water with some combination of Luke Farrell and Week 1 hero Jake Tonges until Kittle is healthy. Fans shouldn't be surprised, however, if the team makes an external acquisition.
Kittle will miss matchups against the Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Jacksonville Jaguars in addition to a Thursday Night primetime game against the rival Los Angeles Rams. The earliest Kittle could return would be a Week 6 road matchup against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There is no way to sugarcoat this. Kittle is second only to Christian McCaffrey in terms of his importance to this offense outside of the quarterback spot, and losing him is going to defang a 49ers offense that didn't look like the fearsome Kyle Shanahan teams of old in their Week 1 duel.