San Francisco 49ers NFL Roster Rumors: George Kittle Aggravates Hamstring Injury; Status for Sunday's Game Uncertain
Rookie tight end George Kittle has not been ruled out of the San Francisco 49ers season opener against the Carolina Panthers yet, but he remains limited in practice due to a hamstring injury.
Kittle had to deal with a recurrent hamstring issue during the preseason and training camp, and he aggravated the injury on Wednesday.
He is currently listed as the Panthers' starting tight end on their depth chart, but head coach Kyle Shanahan may have to start someone else if Kittle's not ready to play on Sunday.
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"We will consider down and distance, how healthy he is. He's another guy who will be limited today. We've got three guys on our roster [at the position], so we'll see how that plays out throughout the week. We won't know how that plays out until Sunday," Shanahan said, via Niners Wire.
Kittle was thrust to the top of the depth chart at tight end after the 49ers traded Vance McDonald to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, but veterans Logan Paulsen and Garrett Celek are expected to play significant minutes at the position as well.
Niners Nation's David Fucillo has also suggested that the 49ers may even promote Cole Hikutini to the active roster if Kittle's unavailable. The undrafted rookie has been inconsistent in the preseason, but he does have a lot of upside.
In other news, Xavier Cooper is glad the 49ers claimed him off waivers after the Cleveland Browns released him, and he believes the team's defensive line has the potential to take a big step forward this season.
"I think we've got something going here. It's a really, really talented defensive line. I think if we get a solid rotation, we can be really damn good," Cooper said, according to SFGate.
The newly acquired defensive tackle trained with DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Eli Harold and Ronald Blair in Hawaii this summer.
