49ers Could Feel Forced to Play an Injured George Kittle Against Jets

Head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed in his press conference on Monday that George Kittle suffered a knee sprain in Sunday's matchup with the Cardinals.

Being 0-1 is not too great of a feeling for the San Francisco 49ers. 

Being 0-1 and having to travel cross-country without your best player is even worse. 

Head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed in his press conference on Monday that George Kittle suffered a knee sprain in Sunday's matchup with the Cardinals. 

"We'll see how he comes in on Wednesday," said Shanahan on Monday. "He was a little sore today, but we'll wait to see how he is on Wednesday to see if he's able to practice or be able to go this week. We know there'll be some question.”

The "some question" should be directed at Jimmy Garoppolo since he is the one that threw the egregious high pass to Kittle that got him injured on the tackle. A knee sprain actually looks like good news because the way Kittle's knee bent looked severe initially.

As of now, the 49ers are "cautiously optimistic" that Kittle will be active in Week 2 against the New York Jets per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. 

“Cautiously optimistic” on George Kittle for Sunday in NY.
pic.twitter.com/UUTRJzi3pb

— ESPN 1320 Sacramento (@ESPN1320) September 15, 2020

I don't know if hearing that he could play on Sunday is good news? Or if the 49ers are absolutely nuts to have Kittle risk further injury against a poor team like the Jets?

But the 49ers could feel forced to play an injured Kittle against the Jets simply because of the lack of involvement of the wide receivers.

In his post-game presser on Sunday, Shanahan mentioned that the receivers were purposely limited in their game plan against the Cardinals. That indicates that the tight ends and running backs were expected to be used heavily, which they were. The receivers were only targeted 11 times in Sunday's loss.

However, Shanahan also revealed that the receivers did "pretty good" from a separation standpoint. So there was success there and for whatever reason, Shanahan continued to keep them limited even when Kittle was injured.

For whatever reason, Shanahan does not fully trust in throwing the kitchen sink at his wide receivers without Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. That is most likely why they saw little action against the Cardinals and is also why the 49ers are not ruling Kittle out against the Jets. He is their premier receiving option and no one else commands anywhere near the attention that he does.

I would suspect that Shanahan mainly wants him as a decoy, which is all he was in the second half of Sunday's loss. And now that he knows the receivers can separate, perhaps he will put more trust in them during Week 2. However, the only way they can likely do so is if Kittle is out there to be the distraction. 

Plus, being the only 0-1 team in the NFC West after an inexcusable loss means the margin for error is slim. San Francisco can ill afford a loss this early given the difficulty of the division. Not to mention that to earn the No. 1 seed with a bye, a team can only take on so many losses.

The next two weeks needs to be wins for the 49ers because of the enormous difference in talent and coaching. So if there is a chance that Kittle can play, the 49ers will roll him out there. If that ends up being the case, for their sake, hopefully it doesn't end up ruining Kittle's season.