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George Kittle will not be in uniform when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round.
The seven-time Pro Bowl tight end was carried off the field in the second quarter of last Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Round game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Kittle was later diagnosed with an Achilles tendon injury.
Despite Kittle’s injury, the 49ers held off a late rally to upset the defending champion Eagles. His wife, Claire, then shared a message of grief but also of optimism about his recovery.
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George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers is carried off the field during the second quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
“Disbelief and calm was all I felt as I screamed, stood up, stood up, again and again. He always gets up. He’s George, he can do anything. He does it. It hurts. There’s no preparation. I love this man with everything I have in me. He’s a unicorn in this world, and he’ll come back stronger and better than ever,” Claire captioned an Instagram post showing her with the 49ers star in the training room and on the sidelines at Lincoln Financial Field.
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“The spirit of a broken-hearted athlete is determined. He can’t do it and so can this entire team. I’m proud of these guys and the courage they come together to fight with every week. This is a special year, you can feel it and we’re not done yet. Thank you for loving G and carrying some of this pain for us,” she wrote.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) greets his wife Claire Kittle before a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on August 23, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Kittle responded to Claire’s post with his own message of gratitude, commenting, “You are the best teammate for this journey.”
Kristin Juszczyk, the wife of Kittle’s teammate Kyle Juszczyk, also chimed in, writing, “Still proud to be a part of this family! For 85 years!!”
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers is carried off the field during the second quarter of the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Kittle suffered injuries during the regular season, which limited him to 11 games. He still recorded 628 receiving yards and had seven touchdowns.
The Niners will also be without star defensive players Nick Bosa and Fred Warner when they start against the Seahawks on Saturday. San Francisco Pro Bowl offensive lineman Trent Williams said this season’s injuries have built resilience.
“I think it made us stronger for things like this,” Williams said. “Kittle went down in the first half. I think if we didn’t have the experience with that, it would have been easy for everyone to fold and no one would have blamed us. They would say, ‘Hey, they don’t have this player, don’t have this player, they should probably lose.'”
