Could George Kittle Open Season on PUP List?

What They're Saying

Maiocco: "[HC Kyle] Shanahan and GM John Lynch are not ruling out the possibility of Kittle being on the field for the season opener. It seems like a little aggressive timeline for him to return from a torn Achilles. So it would seem the 49ers would be cautious with Kittle, as he enters his 10th NFL season.”

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Earlier reports said Kittle was progressing well and could return to the field “sometime around September,” but Maiocco still left open the chance that he misses the season’s first four games.

That keeps his Week 1 availability in real doubt, with a multi-game absence still firmly in play.

The 49ers Organized Team Activities begin May 27, and Maiocco lists Jake Tonges as the starter while Kittle rehabs. In the six games Kittle missed with hamstring and ankle injuries last season, Tonges played well, averaging 4.8 receptions, 44.8 yards, and 0.5 TDs per game. That average would have ranked 23rd among all TEs last season, making him a low-end TE2. 

San Francisco re-signed Tonges to a two-year, $8 million extension in March, and he could have solid streaming value if Kittle misses the start of the season. It also reinforces the team’s confidence in Tonges and gives them flexibility to take a cautious approach with Kittle.

Kittle tore his right Achilles in San Francisco’s Wild Card win over Philadelphia on Jan. 11. Dr. Daniel Kaplan laid out a realistic timeline: a professional athlete like Kittle could return to high-level sports in six months, with another “two to three months before they can return to full-speed participation in games.” 

That timeline would put Kittle back around training camp in July, but it also suggests he might not be fully healthy until well into the regular season. 

We’ll continue to monitor Kittle’s progress as he returns from a major Achilles injury, with his 33rd birthday coming in October and an extensive injury history already in place. He’s missed multiple starts in six of his last seven seasons and hasn’t played a full slate since 2018. 

Kittle is coming off the board as the No. 9 TE in Round 10 of our best-ball ADP, making him a risk/reward target to approach cautiously in early drafts.

Draft Kittle only if you’re pairing him with a reliable TE2 or building depth at the position. He’s better suited for best ball than managed leagues, where an early-season absence would be harder to navigate.

Tonges is a viable late-round TE2 in deeper leagues or a waiver-wire target if Kittle opens on the PUP list, especially in TE-premium formats.