The San Francisco 49ers‘ playoff run will continue without George Kittle as the team prepares for its divisional round game against the Seattle Seahawks. Kittle suffered a torn Achilles tendon injury in the wild-card round win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kittle had surgery this week, and on Jan. 15, 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall provided an injury update on the veteran tight end, who will look to offer moral support to the team as they head on the road to punch their ticket to the NFC title game.
“We were on FaceTime a little bit [on Jan. 14],” Pearsall told reporters (h/t 95.7 The Game). “He’s playing a little bit of video games. He’s playing ARC Raiders, the new video game. I was just checking on him, see how he’s doing. He seems to be in some good spirits right now, but that’s George, man.
“He’s able to get through anything. That energy, just being himself, that’s something that I really admire and take from him. He’s always positive. Shouts to him, man. He’s been a huge part of my career already. He sent some funny photos to me already, but he always does that, so it’s not a surprise.”
George Kittle to Provide Moral Support to 49ers
Kittle was injured in the first half of the win over the Eagles, and so the Niners were able to rally from behind to beat Philadelphia. Nonetheless, the 49ers star might not have been out on the field, but he did give his teammates an added boost with his words, as Kyle Juszczyk revealed.
“Losing George is different,” Juszczyk told reporters postgame (h/t KNBR). “That’s the heart and soul of our team. He brings so much energy, and [he is such] an incredible player. So that definitely hurts a lot. But even when he was down, he was still positive.
“I came in at halftime, and he was smiling, and he said, I’m not dead yet, man. I’ll be back. Go win it. That meant a lot. Guys just continued to step up and find ways, even we lose our best players. And we did enough to get the win.”
Mike Macdonald Issues Blunt Words to George Kittle
Ahead of the divisional round matchup between the 49ers and the Seahawks, head coach Mike Macdonald spoke with the NFL on NBC on Jan. 11, sharing his thoughts on the devastating Kittle injury.
“I know they’re a division rival and all that, but that was a heck of a win,” Macdonald told NBC Sports’ Maria Taylor on FaceTime. “I mean, that was a really gutsy performance. Hate to see it happen to George Kittle. He’s such a great player [and a] great competitor.
“We got a ton of respect for him, and [it] just really makes you sick that that happened to him. But to come back and rally and make those plays late as they did, that was a really impressive win.”
The Niners have been hit with injuries all season, so losing Kittle is just another hurdle the team will need to overcome, as they have throughout this campaign.
49ers’ Ricky Pearsall Gives Big Injury Update on George Kittle