{"id":110149,"date":"2025-12-27T01:58:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T01:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/110149\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T01:58:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T01:58:15","slug":"george-kittle-may-sit-out-with-rome-odunze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/110149\/","title":{"rendered":"George Kittle may sit out with Rome Odunze"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 Tight end George Kittle<\/a> stayed off the practice field all week since Monday night\u2019s low-ankle sprain, but the 49ers aren\u2019t ready to rule him out of Sunday night\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Kittle, along with wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, is questionable for when the 49ers (11-4) host the NFC North-leading Bears (11-4)<\/a>. Official moves are not due until 90 minutes before the 5:20 p.m. kickoff at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge told me he\u2019d have a much better idea (Saturday). Hopefully we\u2019ll know then,\u201d coach Kyle Shanahan said after Friday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

Normally one of the most cooperative and enthusiastic interview subjects, Kittle was not available to the media this week. Pearsall said he was scheduled for treatment.<\/p>\n

Kittle battled through pain and gathered seven receptions for 115 yards before watching the 49ers wrap up a 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts<\/a>. He produced 151 yards on six catches last December when the 49ers beat the visiting Bears 38-13.<\/p>\n

The 49ers went 3-2 without Kittle after his hamstring tear in the season opener at Seattle. Since Kittle was a rookie in Shanahan\u2019s first season in 2017, the 49ers are 10-14 when Kittle doesn\u2019t play (.416 winning percentage) and 71-52 when he does (.577).<\/p>\n

Chicago has been preparing as if Kittle will be good to go.<\/p>\n

Bears coach Ben Johnson said the 49ers are unique in that so much of their passing offense runs through Kittle (52 catches, 599 yards, seven touchdowns) and running back Christian McCaffrey (92 receptions, 849 yards, seven touchdowns).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of unorthodox that you\u2019ve got the tight end and the running back as the guys that concern you the most and (Brock) Purdy does a great job finding receivers,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

When Kittle missed five games after tearing a hamstring muscle in Week 2, Jake Tonges became the No. 1 receiving tight end (25 receptions, 233 yards, four touchdowns) with Luke Farrell being primarily a blocking tight end (11 receptions, 85 yards, two touchdowns).<\/p>\n

PEARSALL RETURN?<\/p>\n

Pearsall was limited in practice after missing Monday night\u2019s game because of a right-knee injury. He originally got hurt in a Sept. 28 loss to Jacksonville, missed the next six games, then aggravated his knee late in a Dec. 14 against Tennessee.<\/p>\n

In the eight games he\u2019s played, Pearsall have averaged 14.3 yards per catch, totaling 31 receptions for 443 yards and no touchdowns. He had 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games last season.<\/p>\n

WILLIAMS\u2019 PRO BOWL JOY<\/p>\n

Left tackle Trent Williams celebrated his 12th Pro Bowl selection this week, noting how that\u2019s been a goal for the past six or seven years to break a four-way tie with fellow offensive tackles Willie Roaf, Jonathan Ogden and Anthony Munoz for the most behind Bruce Matthews\u2019 14. \u201cI definitely want to be at the top of the offensive tackle rankings,\u201d Williams said. \u201cBut catching Bruce Matthews \u2026 I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve got that in me but I\u2019ll try.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to watching former 49ers teammate Deebo Samuel dislodge a Dallas Cowboys\u2019 helmet in Washington\u2019s game Thursday, Williams said: \u201cThat was the joy of my day. I was probably the first to call him after the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

DEFENSIVE HEALTH<\/p>\n

Cornerback Renardo Green (neck) is improving but out a second straight game, likely leading to another start for Darrell Luter Jr.<\/p>\n

Cornerback Darrell Luter Jr. will start his second straight game. He had two pass interference penalties against Indianapolis, although one was dubious, and according to Shanahan and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, he made a big difference in slowing the Indianapolis running game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI disagreed with one of them, thought it was pretty good coverage,\u201d Shanahan said of the PI call. \u201cHe had two runs that got to the corner that if they got past him, they probably have two more carries for about 55 yards and that changes the whole game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 49ers\u2019 defense<\/a> is tracking toward better health to face the NFL\u2019s second-best rushing attack. Linebacker Tatum Bethune (ankle) and defensive linemen Sam Okuayinonu (ankle) and Yetur Gross-Matos (hamstring) all were limited in practice.<\/p>\n

JENNINGS\u2019 FUN FINISH<\/p>\n

Five of Jauan Jennings\u2019 17 receptions have gone for touchdowns over the past four games. \u201cIt\u2019s been fun. Very fun. Very, very, very fun,\u201d Jennings said.<\/p>\n

As for finishing the regular season with home games against Chicago and Seattle, Jennings added: \u201cThat\u2019s fun as well. No plane ride. That\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

BEARS ILL<\/p>\n

Chicago is dealing with a bout of illnesses ahead of their visit.<\/p>\n

Cornerback Nick McCloud was ruled out for Chicago with an illness, as was wide receive Rome Odunze (foot). Cornerbacks Nahshon Wright and Josh Blackwell are questionable. Wright, who went to James Logan High and Laney College, also has a hamstring injury, while Blackwell missed the last two days of practice.<\/p>\n

Linebacker D\u2019Marco Jackson was ill but came off the injury report entirely, as did Duvernay.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s this time of year,\u201d Johnson told said. \u201cI doubt we\u2019re the only team dealing with it. We\u2019re washing our hands, we\u2019re very diligent. Guys have masks on. You do what you can. Whoever is available on game day we\u2019ll look to win with. If a guy can\u2019t go, we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listed as questionable for the Bears are linebacker T.J. Edwards (glute) and cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson (knee). Wide receiver Luther Burden was cleared after playing last week with an ankle injury.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2014 Tight end George Kittle stayed off the practice field all week since Monday night\u2019s low-ankle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[19108,13734,2333,949,8757,402,1533,181,752,182,101,296,103,102,104,106,105,127],"class_list":{"0":"post-110149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco","8":"tag-49ers-alert","9":"tag-49ers-hq","10":"tag-editors-picks","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-george-kittle","13":"tag-inside-sports","14":"tag-keywee","15":"tag-latest-headlines","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-pm-report","18":"tag-san-francisco","19":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","20":"tag-san-francisco-headlines","21":"tag-san-francisco-news","22":"tag-sf","23":"tag-sf-headlines","24":"tag-sf-news","25":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}