The San Francisco 49ers on Saturday made a pair of roster moves that could spell bad news for tight end George Kittle.

San Francisco announced that linebacker Eric Kendricks and tight end Brayden Willis will be elevated from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.

Willis has been a practice squad mainstay for San Francisco this year, but his elevation for Sunday night doesn’t bode well for Kittle who is nursing an ankle injury that kept him out of all three days of practice this week. The last time Willis saw game action was in Weeks 2-6 when Kittle was out with a hamstring injury. Willis went to the practice squad once Kittle returned.

Kittle has officially been listed as questionable despite not practicing, but Willis’ elevation could mean the team isn’t optimistic about their star’s status. On the other hand, the team has elevated players as potential injury replacements this season without that player suiting up, so it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities that Kittle is still good to go Sunday night.

Kendricks will be elevated for the second consecutive week. He saw action in last week’s win over the Indianapolis Colts both before and after Tatum Bethune got hurt so it stands to reason he’ll have a role on defense again in Week 17.

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