George Kittle appears to be over 7,000 miles closer to suiting up for the San Francisco 49ers’ 2026 NFL season opener.
The 49ers star tight end’s status for their game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10 at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, gets an intriguing update on Wednesday, with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reporting that Kittle is joining the team on its flight to the Land Down Under.
“The #49ers leave today for their game vs the #Rams in Australia, and star TE George Kittle will make the trip after 2 positive days of practice, sources say. Kittle is trending in the right direction to play,” Rapoport shared in a post on X.
Also making the trip is defensive end Nick Bosa, who went down with a torn ACL in Week 3 of the 2025 season.
That Kittle was able to show up on the field for practices before the long journey to Australia is already a great sign for his Week 1 status.
His flying to Australia with the team adds another very positive sign for his chances to suit up and play in his first NFL game since suffering an Achilles tendon tear in the NFC Wild Card Round against the Philadelphia Eagles in January.
In the event that Kittle gets ultimately ruled out for the Rams game, tight ends Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell could see a larger role in San Francisco’s offense.
The seven-time Pro Bowler Kittle posted 628 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games in 2025.
