Why isn’t George Kittle playing for the 49ers against the Rams on Thursday Night Football?

The 49ers opened the 2025 regular season campaign with a 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks but their euphoria was short lived after it emerged that they would have to face their next few games without influential tight end George Kittle.

Kittle pulled up during the second quarter and retired to the locker room for assessment. He didn’t return to the game. Tests confirmed the worst news - a Grade II hamstring strain, which would keep him out for between three to five weeks.

For now, the six-time Pro Bowler has been placed on the Injured Reserve List - standard protocol as coach Kyle Shanahan explained: “In order to do that, it’s got to be a four-week injury, and we haven’t decided on that yet”.

With Kittle on IR, Shanahan has had Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges as his options at tight end.

When will George Kittle return for 49ers?

The answer to when Kittle returns was always going to depend on how well the recovery went, with hamstring injuries being notoriously tricky. They take time to heal and there is always a high risk of a relapse if a player returns too early.

Without Kittle, New Orleans Saints came next (W 26-21) for San Francisco, followed by the Cardinals (W 16-15), and the Jaguars (L 21-26). Shanahan’s men are now back on the road for Thursday Night Football, facing the Rams at SoFi Stadium. Fans – and some FF managers – are crossing their fingers that Kittle is back for the game against the Bucs on October 12. This aligns with the IR rules.

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