RADIO
Will George Kittle play for the San Francisco 49ers in 2026? Will George Kittle be healthy enough to play in Week 1? Andersen breaks down the latest George Kittle injury news for fantasy football.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle put together another strong fantasy football campaign in 2025, establishing himself as one of the league's top tight ends once again. Despite missing seven games throughout the year, he still scored seven touchdowns, ranked as the TE13 in PPR leagues, and provided major stability at the tight end position for quarterbacks Brock Purdy and Mac Jones.
Unfortunately, Kittle tore his Achilles in the NFC playoffs. That is a very serious injury for an NFL player, and because he suffered it in January 2026, it left his status up in the air for the start of the 2026 season.
The veteran tight end's availability for the 49ers' season opener on Sept. 10 continues to be a heavily discussed topic. Will George Kittle play in Week 1? What's his fantasy football outlook for 2026?
Bookmark our updated and revamped fantasy football rankings portal for all league formats!- PPR rankings
- Half-PPR rankings
- Non-PPR (Standard) rankings
- Rookie rankings
- Superflex rankings
- Best Ball rankings
- Underdog rankings
- Dynasty rankings
- IDP rankings
Will George Kittle Play In Week 1?
The 49ers open their regular season schedule with an international game, facing the division rival Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, Sept. 10. This should be a fascinating game between two talented NFC West teams, but the fact that it's played on Thursday gives Kittle three fewer days to recover compared to if it were being played on a Sunday.
With that being said, there have been plenty of encouraging updates on Kittle's status. Last Sunday, the 49ers activated Kittle off the PUP list, marking another major step in his pursuit of a Week 1 return against the Rams.
Then, just moments ago, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reported that Kittle is expected to practice this week. He confirmed that Kittle hasn't experienced any setbacks during his recovery and rehab progress, and that he "still has a legitimate chance" to play in the 49ers' Week 1 contest against the Rams.
49ers TE George Kittle is expected to practice this week as he continues his efforts to play in the opener in Australia against the Rams. Kittle hasn’t had any setbacks in his return from a torn Achilles, and still has a legitimate chance to play the opener, per sources. pic.twitter.com/fjMA3XNlkZ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2026
While the 49ers definitely won't rush him back before he's ready, it now seems like he's very likely to play in Week 1. All we've heard this offseason is that Kittle was on or ahead of schedule in his recovery, and the fact that he's on the precipice of playing without having suffered any setbacks is huge news.
George Kittle 2026 Fantasy Football Outlook
Kittle played in 11 regular-season games last year, catching 57 passes for 628 yards and seven touchdowns while ranking as the overall TE13 in total fantasy points. However, he ranked as the overall TE2 in average points per game.
The 32-year-old was truly excellent when healthy. He stepped up as Purdy's favorite target while Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings were dealing with injuries. From Weeks 8-16, he scored six touchdowns and ranked as the overall TE2 in PPR leagues (behind only Trey McBride).
Last year, among tight ends, Kittle ranked second in expected fantasy points per game, second in expected points added, second in first downs per route run, third in yards per route run, third in quarterback rating per target, third in fantasy points per route run, and third in fantasy points per target. Not only did he produce in the box score, but the advanced metrics loved him, too.
Through Week 17, there were 11 pass catchers with 2.20 yards per route run while being targeted on 20% of their routes against man and zone coverages (min. 10 routes) per @FantasyPtsData.
-George Pickens
-Amon-Ra St. Brown
-Nico Collins
-Zay Flowers
-CeeDee Lamb
-Jaxon… pic.twitter.com/0JXPisefMl— Corbin (@corbin_young21) December 31, 2025
Kittle's contributions as a receiver weren't the only reason he earned massive amounts of playing time and targets. He also showed his worth as a blocker. According to PFF's grading system, he earned a 71.2 run-blocking grade (89th percentile) and a 72.2 pass-blocking grade (75th percentile).
Finally, plenty of credit goes to his quarterbacks, too. Kittle caught passes from both Purdy and Jones last year, and he figures to play mostly with Purdy in 2026 now that he's fully healthy. The quarterbacks looked his way often (22.8% target share; third among tight ends) and gave him plenty of passes that he could catch (88.4% catchable target rate; first among tight ends).
All in all, you'd be hard-pressed to find any number that casts Kittle in a negative light, aside from games missed due to injury. If he ends up playing in Week 1 and can be healthy for a full season, he should have no trouble finishing as a top-three tight end in fantasy football, with a decent shot at the overall TE1 spot.
With that in mind, he's an absolute steal at his current ADP of 96.7, which corresponds to the ninth round of fantasy drafts and makes him the ninth tight end off the board. With Pearsall out of the season and veteran Mike Evans carrying high injury risk, Kittle could operate as the "WR1" in this offense for much of the fall.
Who Should I Draft Fantasy Football Tool
Read more about the free Who Should I Draft tool here.
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
2026 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players - George Kittle and Brock Purdy. These are some common searches for 2026 fantasy football drafts.
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 Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? 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 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research and updates them constantly throughout the preseason. 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.
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 Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for George Kittle and Brock Purdy:
More Fantasy Football Analysis
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
