49ers TE George Kittle close to practicing, has ‘chance’ to play in opener

San Francisco 49ers star tight end George Kittle said Sunday he’s nearing a return to practice from a torn Achilles tendon, and he hopes to be ready to play in the Sept. 10 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia.

Kittle said he’s “very confident” he will be activated from the physically unable to perform list before Week 1, meaning he would not miss the season’s first four games. As for facing the Rams?

“I have a chance,” Kittle said. “We’re running around a lot, hitting top speeds. Hopefully we’re back in pads practicing sooner than later. Just trying to check the boxes and not be a dumbass.

“These next couple weeks here are everything,” he added later. “That will let me know whether I’m ready to play in Week 1.”

Kittle, who turns 33 in October, tore the Achilles in his right leg Jan. 11 in the wild-card playoffs against the Philadelphia Eagles. He said his surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, told him after the surgery that he had a chance to be ready for the 2026 opener, which added motivation during his rehab.

“It was pretty easy to light a fire every day,” Kittle said.

The seven-time Pro Bowler said he’s been hitting all his benchmarks for speed and acceleration numbers. He hinted he’d be back at practice shortly but declined to give a timeline.

“I’ve got to keep you guys on your toes,” he teased. “I can’t give you all your information.”

Kittle said he wants to practice in pads and build up his football stamina before Week 1. He suggested that if he’s not ready to play in the opener, he would stay behind in Santa Clara when the rest of the team takes off for Melbourne, which will be roughly a week before the Sept. 10 game.

“I don’t want my first time in pads to be in Australia,” he said. “Because I don’t think that would be a very smart idea.”

Kittle said he isn’t going to jeopardize the full season just to play in the opener.

“If you miss Week 1 and you play Week 2 — hey, it is what it is,” he said. “I’m just going to keep (Week 1) as my goal, and we’ll adjust from there if we need to.”

Still, he said his rehabilitation plan has been “very aggressive” from the beginning.

He was in a cast for roughly two weeks, and immediately after it came off, he was picking up marbles with his toes and doing seated calf raises. Eight weeks after surgery, he was on the golf course at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

“That’s actually the first thing I thought of after I got hurt — this is gonna really mess up my golf game this offseason,” he said. “I actually played the best golf of my life. I was pretty excited about that.”