Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Brandon Aiyuk

Thursday, January 15, 7:07 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) underwent successful surgery to fix his torn right Achilles tendon on Wednesday, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Kittle was placed on Injured Reserve on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the playoffs. Because his injury occurred so late in the year, too, the 32-year-old veteran almost certainly won't be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign this fall. In fact, he could end up missing the majority of next regular season after tearing his Achilles in the Wild-Card win over the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Going into this Saturday's NFC Divisional contest against the Seattle Seahawks, Jake Tonges will take over as the Niners' top pass-catching tight end. Kittle, a seven-time Pro Bowler, still has high-end TE1 upside when healthy, but durability concerns will drastically affect his 2026 fantasy value.

Thursday, December 18, 4:18 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) has been "extremely distant" from the team since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 7 of the 2024 season, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. The 27-year-old has not played a game since that point. The 49ers voided guarantees in his contract for 2026 and placed him on the reserve/left squad list on Saturday, officially ending his 2025 season. All signs seem to indicate that Aiyuk and the 49ers are likely to go their separate ways this offseason. In his last fully healthy season in 2023, Aiyuk recorded 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 targets. He has a chance to get back to his superstar heights if he can get fully healthy and find the right team. However, his health and the way his current situation in San Francisco has unfolded may bring about question marks for dynasty league fantasy managers.