49ers TE George Kittle gets Injury Update for Atlanta Falcons Clash

The Atlanta Falcons are facing a banged-up San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, but the 49ers will have a key weapon back.

The Atlanta Falcons will have to incorporate Kittle into the game plan | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons (3-2) are set to travel to San Francisco in Week 7 for a Sunday Night primetime matchup with the 49ers (4-2). Kittle told the media on Wednesday that he plans to play in Sunday’s matchup against Atlanta. 

“I fully plan on playing Sunday,” Kittle said during Thursday’s presser. “As long as [coach] Kyle [Shanahan] lets me. It’s up to him. But hopefully I’m out there, which I think I will be.”

The star tight end injured his hamstring during the 49ers' season opener against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1.  He left the field with 10:06 left in the second quarter and has not played since. 

Kittle said he knew something was wrong immediately.

“I just felt like a rubber band snapped in my hamstring. I was like ‘Ah, I’ve just got to go to the locker room after that one.’” Kittle said.

Kittle was lucky that his hamstring did not completely tear away from the bone, allowing him a shorter recovery period as opposed to the three to six months it can take for a more severe tear to heal. 

“It was very fun,” he joked. “No, that sucked. But hey, here I am now with a lot of football left to play.”

The five games that Kittle missed this season are the most he’s missed in a season since 2020, when he missed eight games due to injuries.

In his one quarter of play this season, the All-Pro tight end hauled in four receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown. Stopping him will be no easy task for the Falcons, who will be down two defenders in linebacker Jalon Walker and cornerback Billy Bowman Jr.

 Kittle can’t wait to return to the field.

“I have been so very excited to play football since last season ended, and being only able to play 20-something snaps has been very difficult for me," Kittle said. "I've been trying my best to get back as fast as I can without being an idiot and rushing it."

The Atlanta Falcons' defense has been one of the biggest surprises through the first few weeks of football. Atlanta currently fields statistically the best defense in the league, in terms of yards allowed per game, but they’ll face a major test Sunday night. With Kittle back in the lineup, San Francisco regains one of the league’s most dynamic weapons, and Atlanta’s ability to contain him will determine whether the Falcons leave the Bay Area with a winning record.