Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Colston Loveland

Sunday, January 11, 8:39 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle was officially diagnosed with a torn Achilles following Sunday's Wild Card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed. The superstar tight end suffered a non-contact injury while catching a pass during the second quarter. Video from the FOX broadcast appeared to show a pop in the back of Kittle's leg, and he was carted to the locker room in visible pain. The 49ers quickly ruled him out with an Achilles injury, and it was later confirmed to be a tear. The 32-year-old will now embark on a lengthy recovery process. Not only is he done for the 2025 playoffs, but he could miss the start of the 2026 regular season. If so, he'll likely drop several spots in the 2026 fantasy football draft tight end rankings. Jake Tonges should step up as the 49ers' top tight end for the rest of the playoffs before he becomes a restricted free agent in March. In the six games that Kittle missed during the regular season, Tonges totaled 29 catches, 269 yards, and three touchdowns. He caught just one pass for 14 yards in Kittle's absence this Sunday.

Sunday, January 11, 10:51 PM

Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland caught eight of his 15 targets for 137 yards during Saturday's Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers. Loveland's impressive rookie campaign continued as he set new personal-best marks in targets and yards. He now has 24 catches, 322 yards, and two touchdowns over his last three games. According to Jacob Gibbs of CBS Sports, the 21-year-old's big game made him just the second tight end in NFL history to record at least 10 targets and at least 130 yards in a playoff game at age 22 or younger. He joins just Rob Gronkowski in that select group. Loveland will look to remain hot as the Bears advance to face either the Eagles or Rams in the Divisional Round next weekend.