San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has recorded three games with at least 100 receiving yards this season, the most by any tight end in 2024. It also marked his 20th career game with 100 or more receiving yards, placing him among an elite group of four tight ends in NFL history to achieve that milestone within their first eight seasons—Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce, and Kellen Winslow Sr.
Kittle currently has 967 receiving yards this season, leaving him just 33 yards shy of his fourth 1,000-yard campaign. Achieving that would tie him with Gronkowski, Tony Gonzalez, and Jason Witten for the second-most 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end. Kelce leads all tight ends with seven such seasons.
Even in a disappointing 2024 campaign for the 49ers, Kittle continues to bolster his Hall of Fame credentials. Speaking with reporters after Friday's practice, he reflected on his personal goals and what they mean to him amid a challenging season.
Kittle admitted that his goals for each season are 10 touchdowns, 1,000 receiving yards, and 75 catches—all reachable milestones with two games remaining.
"Any time you can get any of those, and you can achieve those goals, regardless what's happening in the season, that's always a good thing," Kittle shared. "I would much rather be winning football games, but to have that as a cherry on top is awesome.
"And just, the more seasons that you can stack up like that, the more fun things you can do down the road."
Kittle also noted that he doesn't focus on how his career compares to other NFL greats.
"I'll look back on that whenever I'm done playing," Kittle said. "It is what it is, but I'm just very excited that I've got to spend eight years with the San Francisco 49ers; hopefully, continue to play here because it's a storied franchise. And hopefully, can eventually catch [Terrell Owens]."
Owens racked up 8,572 receiving yards during his eight seasons with the 49ers, while Kittle currently sits at 7,241 career yards. However, there's one legendary 49ers receiver Kittle knows is untouchable.
"I don't think I'll ever catch Jerry Rice on anything, but that's totally fine. I'm okay with that," Kittle joked. "I don't think I want to play that long."