San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle will be placed on injured reserve and miss at least the next four games, ESPN reported Tuesday.
The six-time Pro Bowl selection sustained a hamstring injury in the first half of Sunday’s season-opening 17-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Kittle caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to open the scoring and had four receptions on four targets for 25 yards before exiting.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings also left the game with a shoulder injury but multiple reports Tuesday said the issue wasn’t serious. Jennings is considered questionable for the Week 2 game at New Orleans.
In addition to this Sunday’s clash with the Saints, Kittle must sit out Week 3 and Week 4 home games against the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars, respectively, and a Week 5 Thursday night road game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Jake Tonges, San Francisco’s third-string tight end, filled in for Kittle and caught Brock Purdy’s deflected pass for a 4-yard touchdown with 1:34 left in Sunday’s win. Tonges finished with three catches for 15 yards.
Kittle, 31, caught 78 passes for 1,106 yards and eight TDs last season, his eighth campaign with San Francisco since being a fifth-round draft pick in 2017. He has four career 1,000-yard seasons.
Kittle became the highest-paid tight end in NFL history in the offseason when he signed a four-year, $76.4 million extension ($19.1 million average) through 2029.
