49ers TE George Kittle (groin) is expected to play vs. the Steelers today, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Kittle was limited in practice all week and comes with a bit more risk than usual today. But he belongs in fantasy lineups, especially considering all the other injury issues at TE.
49ers TE George Kittle (groin) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Steelers. He was limited in practice all week. We’ll look for further updates on Kittle’s status. It’s a 1 pm ET kickoff, so we’ll get San Francisco’s inactives around 11:30 am on Sunday.
49ers TE George Kittle (groin) remained limited in Thursday's practice. We're tentatively expecting him to play in this weekend's opener vs. the Steelers, but we'll see how Kittle is listed on the final injury report tomorrow.
49ers TE George Kittle (groin) was limited in Wednesday's practice. It's not ideal that a guy with a lengthy injury history is already on the injury report, but the limited early-week practice should have Kittle on track to play vs. the Steelers this weekend. We'll keep you updated on his status.
49ers TE George Kittle did not practice on Monday. He's still bothered by the adductor injury he suffered on August 10. Kittle was "sprinting" on a side field, according to insider Matt Barrows, so it sounds like he's getting close to 100%. We'll get San Francisco's first official injury report of the season on Wednesday.
49ers TE George Kittle is expected to miss a week with an adductor strain, HC Kyle Shanahan said Thursday. So it shouldn't impact his availability or readiness for the start of the season. But it's an inauspicious start to the summer for a guy with a lengthy injury history. Kittle is an avoid at his fifth-round ADP.
49ers TE George Kittle finished second among TEs in PPR and non-PPR points per game last year. But there are a few reasons to be wary of drafting him in 2023. Kittle derived a huge portion of his 2022 fantasy production from his career-high 11 TDs. He scored on 18.3% of his receptions, which is more than double the league-wide average TE TD rate of 8.4% and more than triple Kittle's 6.0% TD rate over his first five seasons. He's in for regression in the TD column. On top of that, Kittle's catches per game, yards per game, yards per route, and target share last year were all his lowest marks since his 2017 rookie campaign. Turning 30 in August, Kittle is likely in decline. He faces stiff target competition this season in RB Christian McCaffrey and WRs Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. And the 49ers figure to remain a run-leaning offense. Kittle's high weekly ceiling makes him worth taking some shots on in best ball. But he looks generally overvalued at his TE4 ADP. Kittle sits significantly lower in our TE Rankings.
Niners TE George Kittle tallied 6 catches for 120 yards and 2 TDs in Saturday's win over the Commanders. Kittle led his team in all 3 categories. It marked his 2nd straight 2-TD game. WR Brandon Aiyuk followed with 5 catches for 81 yards on 7 targets. WR Jauan Jennings (2) and RB Christian McCaffrey (2) were the only other 49ers to catch passes. San Francisco gets an upside matchup with the Raiders in Week 17.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel (ankle, knee) is out for Thursday night's game vs. the Seahawks. It sounds like he'll be back in either Week 17 or 18. Samuel's absence elevates Jauan Jennings to the #2 WR role and frees up targets for RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Brandon Aiyuk and TE George Kittle.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel suffered an MCL sprain and an ankle sprain in Sunday's win over the Bucs, the team announced on Monday. Samuel is expected to return at some point in the regular season, but we'd prepare for him to miss multiple games. We'll hopefully get a more concrete timeline for Samuel's return before you need to decide whether to release him from fantasy rosters. Jauan Jennings will take over as San Francisco's #2 WR with Samuel out but is unlikely to be a reliable fantasy play at this point in the season. RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Brandon Aiyuk and TE George Kittle are all candidates to pick up extra targets with Samuel out.
49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo does not have a Lisfranc injury and won't need surgery, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. Garoppolo could be back in 7-8 weeks, "if rehab goes smoothly," Schefter adds. Seven weeks would put Garoppolo back on the field for the Divisional Round of the playoffs. We'll keep an eye on his progress. Garoppolo is still a guy to avoid in playoff fantasy contests, but this news helps the outlooks on San Francisco's skill-position players.
WR Jauan Jennings led the 49ers with 6 catches in Sunday's win over the Saints, taking them for 49 yards and the team's lone TD. Jennings' 7 targets tied Deebo Samuel for 2nd on the team, trailing only WR Brandon Aiyuk. Samuel caught 3 balls for 43 yards, adding 2 carries for no gain. Aiyuk caught 5 passes for 65 yards. TE George Kittle contributed 3 receptions for 26 yards on 4 targets.
Niners WR Brandon Aiyuk drew a team-high 7 targets in Sunday night's win over the Chargers, also leading the team in receptions (6) and receiving yards (84). WR Deebo Samuel trailed by just 1 target but caught only 2 passes for 24 yards. Samuel hasn't beaten Aiyuk in targets since Week 5. TE George Kittle managed just 1 reception for 21 yards among 2 targets. WR Jahan Jennings caught all 4 of his looks for 40 yards. The 49ers head to Mexico City next Monday night to face the Cardinals.
Niners WR Brandon Aiyuk caught all 6 of his targets in Sunday's win over the Rams. He tallied 81 yards and caught a TD throw from RB Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco went without WR Deebo Samuel. McCaffrey led the team in targets and receptions, with TE George Kittle (5 targets) following McCaffrey and Aiyuk. QB Jimmy Garoppolo completed 21 of 25 passes (84%) for 235 yards and TDs to McCaffrey and Kittle.
49ers WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday’s game vs. the Rams. He leaves behind 7.7 targets per game, which should mostly be absorbed by WR Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle and RB Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco could also lean on the running game more with Samuel out. WR Jauan Jennings (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.
Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo racked up 303 yards and 2 TDs (plus an INT) in Sunday's lopsided loss to the Chiefs. He went 25-of-37 passing (67.6%, 8.2 yards per attempt) before turning it over to QB Brock Purdy to close out the game. WR Brandon Aiyuk led the team in targets (11) and catches (7), tallying 82 yards. TE George Kittle caught 6 of 9 targets for 98 yards and a TD. WR Ray-Ray McCloud snagged the other TD, among 4 catches for 65 yards. WR Deebo Samuel caught 5 of his 7 looks for 42 yards, adding 2 yards on his lone carry. San Francisco gets a Week 8 rematch with a Rams team it hit up for 327 total yards in a 24-9 Week 4 victory. The Rams have been a tough scoring matchup for QBs and TEs but slightly positive for WRs this season. Samuel has gone over 90 receiving yards and 100 total yards in 4 straight regular-season meetings with the Rams.
The Panthers are trading RB Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. It's obviously a big upgrade in terms of supporting cast for McCaffrey. The 49ers rank 19th in points per game and 18th in yards per game, while the Panthers sit 27th in points per game and dead last in yards per game. San Francisco is also a balanced to run-leaning offense, so McCaffrey should see plenty of rushing volume. We do worry a bit about his target volume, though, in an offense that also features Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle. Overall, we'd consider this about a wash for the fantasy value of McCaffrey, who currently sits 4th among RBs in PPR points per game. We'll see if he'll play vs. the Chiefs this weekend. Carolina, meanwhile, is left with a backfield committee of D'Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard in a bad offense. We'll see exactly what that workload split looks like, but neither guy is an exciting fantasy option.
Update: Carolina will receive 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-round picks in 2023, plus a 5th-rounder in 2024, according to Schefter.
Update: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport calls McCaffrey "likely" to play vs. the Chiefs on Sunday and adds, "expect a red-zone package." We'll see what else we hear about McCaffrey's projected Week 7 role.
Niners WR Brandon Aiyuk caught 8 balls for 83 yards and 2 TDs among 11 targets in Sunday's loss to the Falcons. Those were the only 2 TDs San Francisco scored. The 49ers won't normally attempt 41 passes, a number that QB Jimmy Garoppolo reached just once last season. But Aiyuk's 26.8% target share led the team. TE George Kittle and WR Deebo Samuel each drew 10 targets. Kittle posted an 8-83 receiving line; Samuel 7-79.
49ers TE George Kittle showed progress with 5 catches for 47 yards in Week 5 at Carolina. He made a few impressive contested catches, although he did lose one fumble. His 6 targets ranked 2nd on the team and represented a decent 20% team share. The veteran entered Sunday with only 50 yards on 6 catches across his first 2 appearances. A low-volume passing game will keep the volatility high going forward, but we’re still likely to see some spike weeks soon. Week 6 turns up a positive scoring matchup at Atlanta.
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