49ers clear George Kittle's return to practice in Achilles comeback

Cam Inman, The Mercury News on Aug 23, 2026

Published in Football

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — George Kittle’s expedited comeback from an Achilles tear just passed a significant marker Sunday.

The 49ers activated Kittle off the Physically Unable to Perform list. Had he remained with that injury designation into the start of the season, then he would have been ineligible to play in at least the first four games.

Now the question remains whether Kittle will be OK’d to play in the regular-season opener, and the complicating part of that scenario is a 16-hour flight to Australia (and the return trip) to face the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne on Sept. 10 (5:35 p.m. PT).

Kittle is only 221 days removed from surgery to repair the right Achilles that ruptured early in the 49ers’ wild-card playoff win at Philadelphia.

Kittle told reporters last week he was “very confident” he would be cleared to play in the 49ers’ initial games this season.

The 49ers open the season in just 2 1/2 weeks against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne.

“Hopefully I’m in pads sooner or later, because I don’t want my first time in pads being in Australia,” Kittle said last week. “I don’t think that would be a smart idea.

“These next couple weeks will be everything and let me know if I’m ready to play Week 1 or not.”