Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Another year, another game against the Arizona Cardinals in which George Kittle takes a low blow and his knee goes in the wrong direction. Kittle was the 49ers’ only genuine, consistent offensive weapon on Sunday, with four catches for 44 yards and one rush for nine yards. Then, Kendrick Bourne missed a block on Budda Baker, Jimmy Garoppolo failed to throw a screen pass properly and Baker did this (watch at your own peril):
Here is a slo-mo of the moment George Kittle got hit in the left leg by Budda Baker. Seriously watch this at your own peril. His left knee hyperextends and he immediately grabs it and heads off. He had 4 catches, 5 targets, 1 rush before this. Was not targeted a single time after pic.twitter.com/nGbXspkHsQ
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) September 14, 2020
According to head coach Kyle Shanahan, Kittle suffered a knee sprain and may be in question for the Week 2 game against the New York Jets.
“He has a knee sprain,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see how he comes in on Wednesday. He was a little sore today, but we’ll wait to see how he does on Wednesday to see if he’s able to practice or how he’ll be able to go this week. We know there’ll be some question.”
Kittle immediately grabbed his left knee and headed to the bench. He was testing it out for a couple minutes, talking to training staff and left teammates, who approached him smiling, with less-than-jovial expressions. A few seconds before the first half ended, he walked to the locker room with 49ers team doctor Tim McAdams.
The man who played through a chipped bone in his foot and undisclosed knee injury, and who has had a torn labrum in his right shoulder for the past two years which he said he will not get surgically repaired, jogged out onto the field for the second half, but was not targeted a single time.
The 49ers also lost Richie James Jr. to a hamstring injury during the game leaving Dante Pettis, Kendrick Bourne, Trent Taylor and Jordan Reed as the only real non-backfield receiving options, with Kittle discernibly acting as a decoy.
