Of course, since it was the colorful Kittle doing the talking, it was unsurprisingly a healthy mix of honest assessment along with a dose humor about trash talking with star linebacker Fred Warner.
But, first, Kittle shared some words on newly acquired defensive end Leonard Floyd, a player that many 49ers fans are likely hoping will essentially serve as the Robin to Nick Bosa's Batman.
"What's really fun for me is getting to go up against Leonard Floyd," Kittle said. "Because, you know, you'll see him. He's in the three point, he's in the two point. He was an outside linebacker for the Rams and Bills and now, you know, has his hand in the dirt, but he kind of bounced between and getting to go against someone like that who I head-butted twice a year for like five years. It's kind of fun to have him on my team and just kind of talk shop with him."
The next topic was in regard to the aforementioned Warner, who's been known to have some intense practice battles over the year with current Niners "hold-in" wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Since the wideout's presence has obviously been missing throughout training camp, the question surfaced as to whether or not anyone on the offense has properly filled that trash talking void given Aiyuk's absence.
Kittle's response, and general approach, felt like something so easy to visualize given the source. Here's what he had to say.
"It's been a little bit different for Fred just because his guy Dre Greenlaw's not out there right now ... So, the people's he's talking trash to would be either the running backs or occasionally me or [Brock] Purdy. He wants someone to talk trash to him, and I usually just give him the silent treatment, because it frustrates him. And that's kind of one of my favorite things to do, is to frustrate Fred Warner."
Given Kittle's well-known chatty nature, picturing Warner on the receiving end of some seemingly rare silent treatment from his teammate—and getting frustrated as a result—might be a pretty brilliant way to bring out an even more intense version of Fred Warner, which is kind of a scary thing to imagine from the All-Pro linebacker.
Below is a quick clip of the audio from Kittle's appearance where he references the silent strategy. It's well worth the listen because it certainly sounds like Kittle enjoys doing the exact opposite of what Warner is seeking out there on the practice field.
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