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Will George Kittle play in Week 17 for fantasy football? Is George Kittle injured or hurt heading into Week 17 of 2025? Read the latest George Kittle injury report.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (ankle) had a huge game in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury in the game -- if he hadn't, his day could have been even bigger.
Kittle, when healthy, has been one of fantasy football's best tight ends. With 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee) having been out all season and fellow wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle) dealing with his own injuries, Kittle has been the top pass-catching target alongside Jauan Jennings.
But his status for Week 17 and beyond is now in question. Will Kittle play in Week 17? What are the latest updates on his injury, and what's his outlook for the rest of the season? Let's dive in.
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George Kittle Fantasy Football Injury Update
Kittle was rolled up on during a tackle by a defender and had his lower leg pinned uncomfortably under the player, resulting in what's reportedly a low-to-mid ankle sprain.
"Pretty excited we won Monday night Football on the road. It is almost 12 AM. Can't wait to go on the plane and go home. My concern level is I don't think it's a high ankle sprain. We'll take it one day at a time and go from there."
George Kittle on the win and his injury pic.twitter.com/zL6i3xNuga
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) December 23, 2025
The reporting at least tracks with what Kittle said, though. He stated he doesn't think he has a high-ankle sprain, as you can see from the video above. Players are also known to downplay their injuries too, though, and they often play through serious ailments.
Is George Kittle Playing in Week 17?
Getting a feel for his status for the upcoming game will require tracking his practice reports, so be sure to keep an eye on them. The 49ers will take on the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football in Week 17, meaning we might not know his game status until after the morning and afternoon window games have started.
These situations are always annoying headaches for fantasy managers. You might have to make a judgment call, and add 49ers backup TE Jake Tonges just in case.
George Kittle Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 17
Kittle wasn't 100 percent healthy when he returned in Week 7 from the hamstring injury that held him out of action for five weeks. He had a decoy game in which he was hardly involved in his first contest back, then scored 14.3 and 6.9 PPR fantasy points in his next two games.
But since then, he's averaged exactly 20.0 PPR fantasy points per game, doing so with remarkable consistency. That has him as the No. 2 overall tight end during that stretch, just behind Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride. He's been a must-start during that stretch.
Brock Purdy throws his 3rd touchdown of the half!
SFvsIND on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/uoqT8Va214— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2025
49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has played excellent football since getting healthy himself, and Kittle has been a monster in the red zone. He's the team's best pass-catcher, and while Pearsall might take that spot eventually, he's not been healthy enough this year to do so.
The problem is simply the injury. Kittle might not get much work if he's playing through significant pain, and he might not get much passing game work if the coaching staff deems his injury serious enough that they want to avoid a higher risk of re-injury.
Still, TE options on the waiver wire are very sparse. The best plan of action is probably to start him if he's active, and if he doesn't play, slot in Tonges, who's proven capable of putting up nice fantasy numbers when Kittle isn't active this season.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 17 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like George Kittle, Rico Dowdle, Emeka Egbuka, Kyle Monangai, Colston Loveland, Michael Carter, Tyler Shough. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 17. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 17 of the 2025 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 17 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on George Kittle, Rico Dowdle, Emeka Egbuka, Kyle Monangai, Colston Loveland, Michael Carter, Tyler Shough. He is one of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 17.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, our Who Should I Start? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 17 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 17 (2025)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 17 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 17 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for George Kittle, Rico Dowdle, Emeka Egbuka, Kyle Monangai, Colston Loveland, Michael Carter, Tyler Shough compared to others:
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