George Kittle Updates Injury Rehab, Return Timeline for 49ers Ahead of Week 1 vs. Rams

George Kittle remains hopeful about his chances of being on the field with the San Francisco 49ers when they open the 2026 NFL regular season against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia.

Appearing on Tuesday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Kittle explained his "goal is to be healthy for Week 1" and he is "slightly ahead of schedule" in his rehab from a torn Achilles.

Kittle suffered the injury in the second quarter of San Francisco's 23-19 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wild card round on Jan. 11.

The timeline for Kittle to play if he is back in Week 1 would be near-historic for this specific injury, though not impossible.

Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers returned just over five months after tearing his Achilles in July 2021. Terrell Suggs tore his Achilles in April 2012, but was back for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 and played in 12 games across the regular season and playoffs.

Suggs said at the time the injury was a partial tear and required "only a small incision" to correct.

Kittle told reporters in January that his surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, described the tear as a "best-case scenario" in terms of where it occurred in his Achilles:

"Surgery went really, really good. [ElAttrache] said best-case scenario when you tear an Achilles is that you tear it up high by your soleus, which is what I did. I had a clean tear. They didn't have to drill into my heel. And where the repair was there's more blood flow. And so it takes some time off of the recovery time... It's not as bad as other ones."

The 49ers star said during OTAs last week that ElAttrache told him he would have "a chance" to play in Week 1 if he did everything right with his rehab.

ESPN's Nick Wagoner noted Kittle was doing activities at OTAs, including single leg hops and 20- to 30-yard jogs.

The 49ers and Rams will play at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sept. 10. It will be the NFL's first regular-season game in Australia.

Kittle finished last season with 57 receptions, 628 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 starts.