It'll be roughly six weeks until the San Francisco 49ers are back at the SAP Performance Facility for training camp, and, until then, anticipation for the 2023 chapter of this franchise will continue to build. It's not just the fans eager to see how the story of the season writes itself, players are hyped for it as well.
A big reason for the enthusiasm was highlighted by tight end George Kittle on Tuesday morning during his interview on the NFL Network's Good Morning Football.
"(General manager) John Lynch and (head coach) Kyle Shanahan have done such a great job of creating this roster with depth and all-star players at multiple positions, at important positions, that whatever happens at quarterback, we definitely have a chance to win a lot of football games," Kittle said.
"We're in prime position to get back to that (NFC Championship) game that we lost last year."
The group coming back from the 2022 campaign includes six players who earned All-Pro honors, seven Pro Bowlers and the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in Nick Bosa. That star-studded cast was further fortified in the offseason with the signing of free agents such as defensive lineman Javon Hargrave from the Philadelphia Eagles and nine draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
"You know from Nick Bosa, Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Juszczyk, Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Charvarius Ward, Talanoa Hufanga and Tashaun Gipson Sr., we have so many guys that can play at a high level - Arik Armstead," Kittle said. "Goodness gracious! We have so many good players."
All those returning starters were on hand for the 49ers veteran minicamp last week and most were regulars throughout the rest of the team's organized team activities.
McCaffrey, who is going through his first offseason with the 49ers, took advantage of San Francisco's OTAs and appeared to already be in mid-season form during several workouts open to the media.
"McCaffrey is one-of-a-kind," Kittle said. "Just being able to be in the locker room next to him, being able to block for him, see his mindset every single day in the locker room, on the practice field, how he takes care of his body - he is professional.
"Everything he does is to set himself up for success on the football field. You love to be around guys like that. You love guys with that mindset. It's infectious."
