George Kittle to start camp on PUP list

Kittle is “very confident” he will be activated from the active/PUP list before Week 1, meaning he should resume playing sometime in Weeks 1-4. The veteran tight end has not yet resumed practicing, but “hinted he’d be back at practice shortly but declined to give a timeline,” per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. Kittle said that he is running and hitting top speeds while doing so. The 49ers are scheduled to fly out for the Week 1 game in Melbourne, Australia roughly one week before the game. Kittle said that the next couple of weeks will determine whether he joins his teammates on that flight. From the way Kittle is discussing his recovery, it almost sounds like he expects to play in Week 2 at the latest, though that is purely an interpretive conclusion. Whether Kittle returns to form as a post-catch dominator remains to be seen, but the 32-year-old remains a top-12 player at his position at this time.

This is just one reporter’s opinion, but 26-year-old Guerendo’s health has taken on increased importance after Jordan James suffered a broken rib in the opening days of camp. Guerendo’s Niners future is murky at best, but a quick healing process could earn him a small role behind workhorse Christian McCaffrey, as well as make it more likely he would be a part of the committee were CMC to ever miss time with injury.

Kittle did some light cutting a few weeks ago in workouts and says he’s running over 16 miles an hour. The story also quotes Kyle Juszczyk as saying he thinks “there’s a real chance” Kittle is back for Week 1. We’re not sure if we’d go that far just yet, but it sure sounds like Kittle has a chance to be back in September despite tearing his Achilles against the Eagles in the playoffs.

Kittle met with the media this week and said that the Achilles is “doing great” and he has had no setbacks. He even said it’s realistic that he could come back eight months after tearing his Achilles. The tight end turns 33 this October and still hasn’t been cleared for practice as he worked off to the side during OTAs. Jake Tonges will fill in for Kittle if he has to miss any time this season.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan broke the news this afternoon. This is a bummer. Earlier this month, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur said he believed Guerendo was “buried” on the depth chart and will likely “be looking for a new team” at some point. The team could end up releasing him with an injury settlement, but we suppose some sort of reserve list placement is possible. 49ers RBs Jordan James and Kaelon Black can be expected to compete for RB2 duties at this time. The team also signed RBs Jordan Mims and Jermar Jefferson today.

Same. After Kaelon Black was added in the third round, it seems like he’ll be the real competitor for Jordan James in the backup spot. Guerendo didn’t exactly play poorly when given a chance, but the 49ers simply have to draft a running back every year per unspoken NFL guidelines. If Guerendo is released, he could be an interesting reclamation project elsewhere.

This is encouraging, though Shanahan added that he doesn’t want to say Kittle is “on track” to play, but he knows Kittle is “shooting for” a Week 1 return. One month ago, 49ers general manager John Lynch said he is “hopeful” that Kittle will be able to play in Week 1. It sounds like Kittle should return early in the 2026 season, even if Week 1 is out of reach. If they start him on the physically unable to perform list, he could return in Week 5. For the time being, it feels safe to say that he should be back by Week 5 or sooner. Anything can happen, though.

We’d heard that they’d had “big plans” for James, but this is more concrete. 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said Isaac Guerendo “wasn’t the team’s second best runner” last year and “fell behind James in that category by the end of the season.” It seems the 49ers believe in Guerendo more as a pass-catcher, but they only have two healthy backs up as an operating principle. James didn’t have much of a regular season, but did have six rushes for 28 yards in garbage time against the eventual champion Seahawks in the Divisional Round. He’ll have some fantasy upside this year behind an aging Christian McCaffrey.

Per Lynch, Kittle is “progressing at a good rate” as he works through his rehab program. Kittle ruptured his Achilles tendon on January 11, 2026, in the 49ers’ Wild Card Round win over the Eagles. Dr. Neal ElAttrache repaired Kittle’s Achilles tendon later that week. A little over five weeks ago, ESPN’s Nick Wagoner said “it’s reasonable” to think Kittle could return in Week 5 “or so.” It sounds like Kittle now has a chance to beat that date, but we are a long way off from knowing anything definitive and Lynch’s status updates have trended towards being overly positive — Brandon Aiyuk is coming back any week now.

Wagoner’s long piece on Kittle’s injury is rooted in the idea that Kittle’s Achilles tear was “clean” and “happened high up by his soleus,” meaning the blood flow wasn’t as poor as it could be during the recovery. Kittle did not entirely rule out the idea of being ready for Week 1. We’d be surprised if a tight end entering his age-33 season was ready for Week 1, but we’ve learned not to count out any wild physical feats from Kittle. This timeline makes him a little more interesting in 2026 best ball, at the very least.