San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle may have found a way to celebrate his team’s playoff win despite an Achilles injury that knocked him out of the game in the second quarter.
Dianna Russini, who covers the NFL for The Athletic, was in Philadelphia on Sunday, January 11 for the 49ers’ 23-19 win over the Eagles, and after the game, she saw the team’s locker room celebration first-hand.
“A San Francisco 49ers employee just walked into the locker room carrying what appeared to be a bottle of tequila,” Russini wrote via X. “Best guess? it’s for George Kittle.”
Several hours later, Russini followed up with some more reporting.
“Here’s what I found out,” she wrote. “It was Patron tequila. The bottle was sent from the owner from his suite to Kittle after he requested it. That bottle is now empty.”
The injury happened when Kittle, 32, made a catch with six minutes remaining before halftime. He then turned as his leg gave out and was later carted off the field. Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed after the game that it was, in fact, an Achilles injury, ending Kittle’s season as the 49ers forge on in the playoffs.
“The trainers knew before the cart came out and got word to me in the headset. Yes, a torn Achilles,” he told reporters.
He added, “Losing Kittle early in the game was obviously a depressing play for everybody when you see that, and guys stepped it up and still made plays and competed. To find a way to win that game, we thought it would be a grind-it game, that’s how we say it, and it was. Our defense allowed it to be that way.”
Harry Potter expert George Kittle thinks he knows which Hogwarts houses his San Francisco 49ers teammates belong in. While at a press conference ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, Kittle, 30, was asked by a reporter to sort himself, coach Kyle Shanahan and teammates Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy and Nick Bosa, and Kittle excitedly obliged. He […]
Shanahan also said that when the 49ers entered halftime trailing 13-10, they didn’t need to discuss Kittle’s injury. Instead, they turned their attention to the second half.
“You don’t have to address that,” said Shanahan, 46. “Guys know right away…We were happy with how it was going in the first half and thought we’d have the grit to finish it.”
San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey said the team has “carried the character” of Kittle the entire season, which has been plagued by injuries.
“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” said McCaffery, 29. “That’s a tough loss. When he’s not playing, it means a lot. … When you lose a leader like that, you never really lose him because his presence is still in this locker room. His energy is still here.”
The 49ers were also missing defensive end Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner. Bosa, 28, suffered a torn ACL in Week 3, while Warner, 29, broke his ankle in Week 6. Though Bosa’s season is done, it is still possible that Warner returns later in the playoffs.
Just don’t expect it to be against the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round on Saturday, January 17.
Shanahan said after the game that it was not likely that Warner would return to practice this week, even as his rehab seemingly continues ahead of schedule.
“Fred Warner has blown past all his rehab markers,” Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported on Saturday, January 10. “I’m actually told, if they get to the NFC Championship Game, they’re holding out hope. They think there could be a chance that Fred Warner could actually go in that game.”
