Latest news with #Kittle
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
49ers' George Kittle reveals what makes Kyle Shanahan different
The post 49ers' George Kittle reveals what makes Kyle Shanahan different appeared first on ClutchPoints. San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and tight end George Kittle have been through a lot together. The former joined the franchise in 2017, and the latter was drafted a couple months later. They weathered some rough beginnings, as the team went just 10-22 during their first two years in the Bay Area. Eventually, both men helped spark a momentous franchise revival, which has so far featured two Super Bowl appearances (and two bitter SB defeats). Advertisement Their NFL legacies will always be intertwined, and considering that Kittle recently signed a four-year, $76.4 million contract extension, this duo could remain intact for a while. After an eight-year union, their are no signs of strife. The two men actually share a close personal relationship. The two-time First-Team All-Pro highlights one Shanahan quality that might explain the cohesion. 'One of my favorite things about Coach Shanahan is that he has like a 24/7 open-door policy,' Kittle told The Pat McAfee Show on Friday. 'Like if somebody has a question for him, someone wants to know where they stand with the team, {or} someone has an idea, his office is always open…. Any player can go in at any time, and so I really, really respect that about him.' Transparency can go a long way in building trust with players, and it seems Shanahan has shined in that crucial area. Given that the roster has underwent a significant overhaul this offseason, keeping morale high will be vitally important. There is no reason to question Kittle's mood. The 31-year-old was beaming with positivity at mandatory minicamp. He is eager to get back to work and help San Francisco rebound from a disappointing 6-11 campaign. Possible offensive challenges the 49ers must navigate Kyle Shanahan must devise a successful game plan around this revamped squad. His offensive ingenuity has garnered him a ton of praise, including from Kittle, but that creativity could be pushed to its limits next season. Quarterback Brock Purdy, who inked his own massive payday this spring, will need to perfect his rapport with an unpredictable wide receiver group. Advertisement Deebo Samuel is gone. Brandon Aiyuk is still recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. Jauan Jennings could receive a true No. 1 WR workload. And Ricky Pearsall has to prove he can take a sizable leap in his second season. A healthy and consistent George Kittle is more essential than maybe ever before. The six-time Pro Bowl selection has eclipsed 1,000 yards and recorded at least six touchdowns in each of the last two years. He and Shanahan will likely work together to figure out how to maintain that volume without risking too much wear-and-tear. Perhaps the topic has already come up during their occasional hangouts. 'I like to golf with him in down in Cabo in the offseason, and then I like to win football games with him in the fall.' Fans will have to wait a few more months to see if the 49ers can indeed get back to their prosperous ways, but the process to potentially achieve such status has already begun. Advertisement Related: 49ers' George Kittle teases Brock Purdy over massive contract extension Related: 49ers GM John Lynch acknowledges mutual blame in Brandon Aiyuk spat last season
NBC Sports
10 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
George Kittle on Robert Saleh's return: Violence is coming
George Kittle doesn't play defense, but Robert Saleh's return to the 49ers still has him fired up. Saleh built a strong defense when he was the team's coordinator from 2017-2020 and turned that success into a job as the head coach of the Jets. Saleh couldn't reach the same heights in that role and was fired during the 2024 season, which left him available for a second stint with the NFC West club this year. During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show this week, Kittle shared a message for the rest of the league about what Saleh's return to the team will mean. 'Violence is coming is what I would say,' Kittle said. The tight end expanded on his thoughts about what Saleh brings to the table. 'He's really good at his job, and I'm really excited that we somehow convinced him to be our defensive coordinator again,' Kittle said. 'He knows what he's talking about, he's inspiring, he gets the boys fired up, and he just happens to also be really, really smart. So, I'm pumped to have him back in the building, just hanging out with him a little bit, talking about stuff. You can just tell he's ready to roll this year, and he's gonna get the boys fired up.' The 49ers selected defensive players with their first five picks in this year's draft and the new blood will be needed after a slew of departures on that side of the ball this offseason. If Saleh can mold them into a similar unit to the one he built in his first 49ers run, a rebound from last year's disappointing season in Northern California could be in the cards.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Did 49ers GM reveal key change coming to 49ers offense in 2025?
Did 49ers GM reveal key change coming to 49ers offense in 2025? There could be a significant change coming for the San Francisco 49ers' offense. General manager John Lynch in an interview with Matt Maiocco on the 49ers Talk podcast talked about the importance of free agent tight end Luke Farrell. Farrell has only 36 catches in four seasons as a pro, but Lynch believes Farrell could have a positive impact on All-Pro TE George Kittle by allowing Kittle to get out into routes more often. For Farrell to assist Kittle in that way, it would mean an uptick in multiple TE sets for the 49ers. Last season San Francisco rolled with multiple TE personnel on 13.6 percent of their offensive snaps according to Sumer Sports. That was down from 22.3 percent in 2023, and 24.2 percent the year before that. Last year Kittle also stayed in to pass block on 11.6 percent of the team's passing plays according to Pro Football Focus -- his highest mark since 2021. In 2023 when they played more multi-TE personnel, he was on pass blocking on 7.0 percent of the team's pass plays. The year before that he was at 7.6 percent. On a club with so many question marks at wide receiver, having Kittle available as often as possible makes a ton of sense. He led the team with 1,106 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches. He was also second on the team in targets and first in receptions per game. Kittle is simply too valuable to have to stay in as a blocker on pass plays more than 10 percent of the time. That's where Farrell and potentially the return of Ross Dwelley this offseason could open the door for Kittle to spend less time in pass protection. We may not see San Francisco's multiple TE usage soar above the 24.2 percent mark it reached two seasons ago, but we should see a dramatic uptick from their 13.6 percent usage rate last season now that the 49ers have a player who can reliably stay in to pass block while Kittle continues taking on the responsibilities that come with being a quarterback's No. 1 target. More 49ers: 49ers star defends former teammate against negative social media discourse
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
49ers star defends former teammate against negative social media discourse
49ers star defends former teammate against negative social media discourse Over the last year or so there's been a growing discussion surrounding former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel's size and speed with many detractors saying he's overweight and slow. Last season was arguably Samuel's worst in the NFL, as he finished with a career-low 51 receptions for 670 yards and three touchdowns in three games. He also averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per rush, totaling 136 yards gained on the ground. Prior to that, he had caught 283 passes for 4,122 yards and 19 touchdowns while adding another 1,007 yards and 19 scores on 6.3 yards per attempt in 66 games over five seasons. Earlier this offseason, the 49ers sent the 29-year-old to the Washington Commanders in a trade that netted them a 2025 fifth-round pick, which was subsequently used on 21-year-old Oregon running back Jordan James. The willingness to part with a wideout who had been considered one of the best in the league since San Francisco took him in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2019 NFL draft for such a weak return indicates that general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan may have seen Samuel's speed take a hit. However, the 49ers have a pretty close locker room, and the players are willing to defend each other from oncoming attacks both on and off the field, and that continues even after they leave the team. Six-time Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle demonstrated that last week when an infamous aggregation account posted a video on social media of Samuel running routes at practice with Washington, insinuating looked bigger and slower. While Samuel didn't exactly appear to be moving too fast during the referenced play, Kittle responded with a simple explanation, saying "It's called group install when players jog through plays. Knock it off." Even 10-time Pro Bowl linebacker Bobby Wagner, who's now teammates with Samuel in Washington, seconded Kittle's insight. Watching Samuel from afar will be interesting in 2025. Will he return to the versatile weapon who could change the game any time he touched the ball, or will he see another down year and potentially drop off even further? Either way, Samuel knows he has Kittle in his corner, even if they're no longer wearing the same jerseys. More 49ers: How 49ers 1st-round pick made team 'feel like he's one of us'
USA Today
3 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
George Kittle says goal of Tight End University is to get better, paid more
George Kittle says goal of Tight End University is to get better, paid more Show Caption Hide Caption Greg Olsen talks Tight End University and what he's excited for in the 2025 NFL season Greg Olsen stops by to talk about another year of Tight End University and who he's excited to watch as the NFL season inches closer. Sports Seriously School may be out for the summer, but class is in session for tight ends across the league. Tight End University is returning for another season and while the goal is to improve on the field, George Kittle also has something else in mind for the 80 to 90 players in attendance. The San Francisco 49ers All-Pro and Tight End University co-founder wants to make sure his colleagues get paid. Kittle, who signed a four-year, $76.4 million extension this offseason, spoke about the event during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Monday. "The only way for the tight end market to continue to grow is if everybody's getting paid," Kittle said. "That's the only way to do it. You can't just have one guy do it and then it just sits for three or four years because then you're stuck and it's stagnant and no one's getting paid." Competition is the name of the game, but Kittle is rooting for tight ends to be successful when they aren't playing the 49ers – because it helps drive up the price of future contracts. "We want everybody, I want everybody to have great seasons," Kittle said. "I want everybody to have great games, just not against the 49ers. But throughout the rest of the season, they can play as well as they want to because I want guys to get paid, to keep bumping up that market so by the time that Brock Bowers is doing his contract in three years, he's going for over $20 million, which he will. That's just the whole point. When Tight End U first started, I think the top of the market was $15 [million] and now it's $20 [million]." The requirements for enrollment are fairly lenient. Kittle said as long as he has an email address or can get a hold of them, all active players are invited. 'If you're on an NFL roster or were in the last year, you're invited,' Kittle said. 'I talk about run blocking, pass protection, YAC. Those are things I focus on. Travis [Kelce] talks about his route tree, how he reads his coverages, Greg Olsen talks about his routes. Jordan Reed has spoken about his releases. This year Evan Engram is going to talk.' Kittle expressed that they try to cover a lot in their limited time together, focusing on skills related to the game in addition to things that happen off the field, such as financial advising and investing. "We try to talk about all the things a tight end does because we're the only position that gets to do everything: Pass pro, run blocking, catching the football, scoring touchdowns, running the ball sometimes, so we kind of try to cover as much as we can in the limited time we have with these guys and just try to give them a step forward in their careers to help them make a team in the upcoming camp," Kittle said. Founded in 2021 by Kittle, Kelce and Olsen, Tight End University is a three-day program that takes place in Nashville before training camp. It's an event that continues to grow in popularity and seems to be paying off at the negotiating table. The Arizona Cardinals awarded Trey McBride a four-year, $76 million extension, which made him the highest-paid tight end in league history at the time. Of course, Kittle eventually surpassed that, but the arrow is pointing up for the position. Perhaps that degree is worth a bump in salary.
