Sunday’s road win over the Eagles gave the 49ers plenty of reason to celebrate, but the locker room party was muted a bit due to tight end George Kittle’s injury.
Kittle tore his Achilles after catching a pass in the second quarter of the game. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the win that the injury was diagnosed on the field and called it a “depressing play for everyone.” Running back Christian McCaffrey touched on that as well while discussing the impact that losing Kittle will have on the Niners.
“This team has carried the character of George Kittle throughout the entire year, and since I got traded here, he’s the heart and soul of this team,” McCaffrey said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “And so, it’s a tough loss. When he’s not playing, it means a lot. But he’s somebody that, even going through something that he had to go through, and us finding a way to finish, he’s the first guy in the locker room smiling, bumping music, happy for his teammates. And when you lose a leader like that, you never really lose them because his presence is still in this locker room, his energy is still here, and he’s a leader, and the heart and soul of this team. And so, we’re praying for him, love him, and we’re going to play for him the rest of the way.”
Kittle’s loss is a significant one, but if there’s any positive spin for the 49ers it is that they’ve grown accustomed to winning despite missing key players all season. They’ll try to pick up another one in Seattle on Saturday.
