George Kittle has missed 11 games over the last two seasons due to various injuries. Last year, a calf injury forced the star tight end to miss a three-game chunk starting in Week 5. In 2021, several injuries—an MCL sprain, bone bruise, and finally, a break in the cuboid bone in his foot—forced him out of eight contests.
Kittle has no plans to change the aggressive style of play that makes the tight end one of the more entertaining players in the league. He also has no problem taking on defensive linemen and linebackers as a blocker in the run game, increasing the chances of some wear and tear.
In 2020, San Francisco signed Kittle to a five-year, $75 million contract. Then, in March, he did the team a solid, agreeing to a restructure to help get the 49ers under the salary cap by the start of the new league year.
In a recent column for the San Francisco Chronicle, Michael Silver wonders what happens if the 49ers try to "squeeze" more money out of the NFL's highest-paid tight end due to concern that the star player can't stay healthy.
Good luck with that. As was the case in 2020, Kittle knows his worth.
"I'm not really concerned with it at all," he said. "I could give two s—, honestly. If there comes a day when they feel like that, it is what it is, and it's a business. ... I know there's a right way and a wrong way to play football, and I'm gonna play it the way that I think is right. You're never gonna be able to question my intent nor my effort on the tape.
"Whoever it is that wants to do that and give me money, I think somebody will want to do that. Hopefully, it's the 49ers, because I love being here and I love everything about this organization. I think they've built a fantastic team with high-character guys. One thing I've learned is you don't really want dickheads on your team, and we have not had a lot of dickheads, or they've gotten rid of dickheads pretty quickly, and I've really appreciated that."
Kittle enjoys being financially secure while not worrying about giving his all on the football field. As he often says, he cherishes the thrill of moving a guy from point A to point B against his will.
"Football's a violent sport," Kittle told Silver. "I think there are some instances where you can protect yourself — like, hey, there are two guys running at you and there's zero yards available, then sure, you can go down or you can get out of bounds. But if I have a one-on-one opportunity, I'm gonna lower my shoulder and I'm gonna try to run through somebody. ... It is what it is: I'm gonna still rumble, bumble and tumble, baby."
Click here to read Silver's entire column, which includes Kittle's thoughts on supporting teammates like second-year quarterback Trey Lance.
