49ers TE George Kittle reveals new details on Achilles injury

The San Francisco 49ers were without star tight end George Kittle for their Divisional Round playoff matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Kittle suffered a torn Achilles the week prior during the Wild Card round, initially sparking concern that he could miss a significant portion of the 2026 season.

However, Kittle later clarified that the injury was a high Achilles tear—something he described as a best-case scenario given the circumstances.

The All-Pro tight end is now optimistic about an earlier-than-expected return, noting that the tear was clean and located in a more favorable area, which should help reduce his recovery timeline.

Kittle recently appeared on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast, where he shared encouraging progress in his rehab, noting that he is out of the walking boot and is only occasionally using crutches to get around.

"It's coming along," Kittle said. "The rehab is going great."

He added, "My trajectory is fantastic. I think I get off of crutches in like a week or two."

Kittle also revealed he immediately knew the injury was serious. After going down against the Philadelphia Eagles, fullback Kyle Juszczyk approached him—only for Kittle to respond, "Get me a cart. I'm not walking this one off, bud."

The veteran tight end believes a prior injury may have contributed to the bigger setback.

"My biggest thing that I thought it was, when I played the Colts on Monday Night Football (in Week 16), I tore like two ligaments in my ankle," Kittle explained. "And then, I hurt it again because I kept playing on it. And so, then, I was very lopsided—or I was compensating really bad.

"So, I think it was a I think that was a big part of it, too. I was compensating for the last three weeks on one ankle, so all the weight was on my right side, and [when] I was basically running, everything was on my right side. Then, plus, it was a weird position."

While the injury initially appeared devastating, Kittle's latest update offers optimism that he could still be a key contributor for much of the 2026 season.