Who Should I Start? George Kittle or Michael Mayer

Saturday, July 25, 10:46 AM

The San Francisco 49ers placed tight end George Kittle (Achilles) on the Physically Unable to Perform list on Saturday for the start of training camp, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports. Kittle is not ready to join the rest of his teammates for the start of camp after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon in the wild-card victory over the Philadelphia Eagles back in January. He is optimistic that he will be ready for the Week 1 regular-season opener in Australia against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams, but fantasy managers shouldn't be nearly as optimistic. The 49ers can activate Kittle from the PUP list at any time this summer. If the 32-year-old veteran is not ready for the beginning of the 2026 season, Jake Tonges will step in as the team's top pass-catching TE. Kittle, a seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro, is a risk/reward low-end TE1 target as he heads into his 10th year in the NFL. He'd be a massive value at the position if he returns to his pre-injury form, but the odds are against that, and he could miss the first couple of weeks of the 2026 season.