San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle promised not to pout if Kyle Shanahan's high-powered offence ignores him for entire games in 2023. The veteran pass-catcher said it's "fun" to play in a squad "that does have a problem of too many mouths to feed."
Kittle could struggle to match his reception tallies of previous seasons because Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey also expect to touch the ball frequently. His numbers already dipped last year when he recorded his lowest catches-per-game mark since his rookie campaign (4). But the £59 million man is ready to focus almost exclusively on blocking if that's what it takes to win.
"If I have one catch a game, I know my fantasy football coach would be really mad at me for that, but it is what it is," Kittle told the 49ers' website. "As long as we're winning games and we're feeding the right guys the ball – I'm never going to get mad if Christian McCaffrey has 20 carries and 10 catches for 300 total yards, I'll never be upset about that because he's such a talented football player.
"It's really fun to be on a team that does have a problem of too many mouths to feed, because coach Shanahan does such a great job of scheming everybody into getting certain plays and it's just really fun to be a part of an offense that has so much talent on it."
San Francisco added McCaffrey in a blockbuster mid-season trade last year before advancing to the NFC Championship. Their 26.5 points per game ranked sixth in the NFL.
The 49ers are uncertain who will start at quarterback in Week 1 after Brock Purdy sustained an ulnar collateral ligament tear in their playoff defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. He's still recovering and may need to miss the early stages of the campaign.
Kittle is excited about San Francisco's offensive potential regardless of who distributes the ball. The dirty work of blocking for star teammates gives him an adrenaline rush. He wants to show critics he can handle those responsibilities.
"I just have the mindset that I'm going to love this and I'm going to be better than anyone else at it," Kittle said. "Now, if I'm not getting the ball, I'm going to influence the game in the run game and I'm going to make the guy across from me, his life a living hell..
"You need me to pass-pro a guy who gets paid $100 million on third down? Bring it. I cannot wait.
"I can't wait for you to be on my highlight reel where I block you and lock you down because 'no tight end should block a defensive end' is what everybody always says. I take that personally because I can block anybody."
Kittle caught the second-most passes on the 49ers in 2022, behind only Aiyuk in that category. But Samuel and McCaffrey played just 13 and 11 games, respectively, for the team and are expected to receive more looks than the tight end if they stay fit the entire season.
San Francisco will begin their campaign on September 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers before a rivalry clash against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.
