The long road of recovery begins for 49ers star tight end George Kittle, and he has plenty of support by his side.
Kittle, who suffered a torn Achilles during the 49ers’ playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles, underwent surgery to repair his injury last Wednesday.
The 32-year-old tight end said the support he has received since the injury has been “fantastic.”
“I’ve heard from a ton of people,” Kittle told reporters Monday. “Richard Sherman and Kirk Cousins reached out immediately after I got hurt and just said if I have any questions, hit them up.”
Both players mentioned by Kittle suffered the same injury.
Sherman suffered a torn Achilles in November 2017 in his last season with the Seattle Seahawks. He was released the following offseason and subsequently signed a three-year contract with the 49ers and was ready to play in Week 1 of the 2018 NFL season.
Cousins was injured in October 2023 in his last season with the Minnesota Vikings. He became a free agent after the season ended and then signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
Kittle also received support from athletes outside of the NFL.
“I’ve had so many players hit me up about it,” Kittle explained. “Basketball players, like so many guys just, ‘Hey, what do you need? Let us know. This helped this worked for me in my recovery. This is the surgery that I did.’ ”
“So, it’s kind of cool just to kind of bounce some ideas around some other people, and just the outpouring of love has been fantastic and has definitely raised my spirits.”
Kittle always seems to keep up the high spirits, but the additional support has surely helped in the face of one of the most devastating injuries an athlete can endure.
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