On Monday, Kyle Shanahan revealed the possibility of George Kittle nearing a return at some point in 2020. That possibility has become more of a reality as the San Francisco 49ers opened the practice window for the tight end on Wednesday.
Kittle missed the last five games while working his way back from a foot fracture. He joined quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and other 49ers in Arizona to continue their rehab with the SAP Performance Facility currently closed, per Santa Clara County guidelines.
Prior to exiting the 49ers Week 8 contest against the Seattle Seahawks, Kittle appeared in six games and registered 474 yards on 37 receptions (12.8 yards per reception) and two touchdowns.
It's not likely Kittle will be on hand for the 49ers Week 15 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys as the team plans to be cautious with his return to the field. The team will also weigh his impending return on their postseason outlook, which begins with a victory over Dallas on Sunday.
"I'm not saying, for sure, no. If I thought it would help him and I thought it would help our team, definitely," Shanahan said. "I mean there's more things to it than just making the playoffs. Obviously, that's the number one thing. But it would have to do with if George is risking anything, then it would be an easy decision - we wouldn't even think about it.
"But if he could 100 percent come back and be normal, then that's something I'll talk to him about and talk to John (Lynch) about and we'll figure out what's best for him and the team."
In other news, Shanahan said K'Waun Williams, Emmanuel Moseley, Fred Warner and D.J. Jones will be limited in the team's first practice in advance of Week 15. Deebo Samuel, Daniel Brunskill, Hroniss Grasu and Raheem Mostert will not practice. The 49ers received positive news on Mostert's ankle. The running back underwent imaging following the Week 14 contest against the Washington Football Team after re-aggravating an ankle sprain sustained in Week 6. According to Shanahan, Mostert should be good to go by the end of the week but he said they will be careful with him today and have him sit out of practice.
"He's not practicing to day but the imaging, basically, we feel pretty good that we'll be able to get there at the end of the week," Shanahan said. "It hurt a little bit more than usual, but the imaging was somewhat positive. We're going to take care of him today and allow him to rest and hopefully he'll feel a little bit better tomorrow."
