George Kittle has played a major part in keeping the 49ers locker room upbeat despite their losing record, as teammates have revealed ‘frustrations’ over unfortunate events
This season has been anything but routine for the San Francisco 49ers, and the Super Bowl finalists from last year now have just a 10 percent chance of reaching the playoffs. However, a backup for the team says that there has been a silver lining to the disappointment.
In Super Bowl LVIII, where the 49ers lost in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs, linebacker Dre Greenlaw ruptured his Achilles and is still yet to play this season. That injury appeared to set the tone for the year ahead, as running back Elijah Mitchell was ruled out for this season in April, and his partner Christian McCaffrey is back on IR after missing the first nine weeks.
Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has also been absent, but the defense has been particularly impacted, with Talanoa Hufanga, Nick Bosa, and Javon Hargrave just some of the stars missing major game time. Injuries have even spread to the punting unit, with Mitch Wishnowsky getting hurt.
One bright spark has been tight end George Kittle, who has eight touchdowns on the year and closing in on his career-high of 11, which came in 2022. Not only has Kittle been benefitting the young career of his understudy Jake Tonges, he’s been keeping the 49ers roster together through repeated setbacks.
Tonges has been on the periphery of the roster since initially signing for the 49ers on Sept. 27, 2023, after first signing for the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Tonges is originally from the Bay Area and has spent this season learning under Kittle’s guidance, but has also seen how the veteran steps up during a difficult season.
“It’s great to learn from him, he knows so much,” Tonges told Mirror U.S. Sports. “He’s such a good run blocker, which was always something that I felt like I needed to work on and improve on. And I think being around him, I have done that.
“But he’s always just super positive, even in last week’s game (against the Buffalo Bills) when things were getting out of hand and the weather was bad and people were going down, he maintained a really positive attitude which is super helpful to be around, especially when times are tough.”
That game saw the 49ers lose McCaffrey to a PCL injury just four weeks after he’d returned from Achilles tendonitis, and being without the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year for so long has impacted the offense. The 49ers haven’t been able to field a fit roster at all this season, and face a shock elimination.
At 5-7, the 49ers have a 10 percent chance heading into Sunday’s game against the Bears, and those odds will increase to 14 percent with a win, but would drop to just three percent with a loss. The 49ers haven’t been used to losing in recent years, but unless they go on a flawless run, this season is one that got away.
“It’s frustrating. Losing is frustrating,” offensive lineman Colton McKivitz told Mirror U.S. Sports. “The goal of playing this game is to win, that’s what the business is made for and that’s what we are all here to do, win championships. That’s what we expect, what the fans expect, and what the front office expect as well.
Colton McKivitz has not been used to losing in recent seasons. ( Image: 2024 Cooper Neill)
“When all those things go against you… of course it’s frustrating, but it’s the NFL. We are all professionals, and we all have to step up and do our job. We haven’t done that, so, hopefully, this week.”
Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir has seen several of his defensive teammates get hurt this season, and admitted that their mental strength has come into play. “Just leaning on each other. When a brother goes down, we just lean on each other and pull each other tight,” Lenoir added.
“That’s when we need each other the most. Just talking things out and being heavy on the communication, trying to make sure everybody is on the same page. Our record really doesn’t represent what type of team we are, we know what type of team we have, we just have to play in sync.”