Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Michael Mayer

Monday, August 31, 1:29 PM

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (Achilles) will be eased into practices over the next three days, head coach Kyle Shanahan told Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Kittle will not be a full-go this week as he prepares to potentially make the trip with the team to Australia to take on the division-rival Los Angeles Rams next Thursday. We will have a better idea of the veteran tight end's Week 1 availability once the 49ers release their official practice reports for Week 1, which will start next Monday. He was just activated from the Physically Unable to Perform list last week after tearing his Achilles tendon in the playoffs in January. Kittle has been targeting Week 1 for his return all offseason, but the Niners may play it safe and keep him out, especially when considering how banged up they have been over the last couple of seasons. If Kittle is inactive against the Rams, Jake Tonges figures to be a tight end streamer in fantasy, although Luke Farrell could also get involved. Injury concerns for Kittle have caused him to slip in the rankings in 2026 as a low-end TE1.