Getty San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan reacts after a play in an NFL game.
The San Francisco 49ers have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, but tight end George Kittle is naming “the problem” that comes with that. That being said, this problem isn’t a bad thing depending on who you ask.
In the Kyle Shanahan era, the 49ers have built a team that is a perennial contender for the NFC West and the playoffs. The defense is one of the league’s best, but the offense includes a special group of weapons despite having an uncertain situation at quarterback.
Kittle explained in a recent article on San Francisco’s website what it’s like to share attention with WRs like Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. For the veteran TE, his personal numbers aren’t important.
“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.”
Kittle Earned 4th Pro Bowl Honor in 2022
It’s been three seasons since Kittle’s last campaign with over 1,000 receiving yards, but the tight end is still clearly one of the NFL’s top tight ends despite sharing attention with several other talents on the 49ers roster.
In 2022, Kittle was more of a touchdown threat than he’s ever been for the San Francisco offense. For the first time in his NFL career, the 29-year-old reached 10-plus touchdowns with 11 scores last season.
Pro Football Reference shows that his yards per game was the lowest it has been since his rookie year, but that’s a testament to his comments about splitting time. Shanahan has a “burden of riches” to navigate on the Cowboys’ offense, and Kittle being utilized as a red zone specialist is the best way to maximize his value.
Shanahan Predicted to Chase Kirk Cousins in 2024
As mentioned above, the 49ers have a conundrum at quarterback with Brock Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold all in the mix. While Purdy is the frontrunner to start in 2023, the 49ers aren’t at a solid point in terms of the future of the team’s quarterback.
Accordingly, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio believes that the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams could pursue Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins in 2024 when the veteran QB becomes a free agent.
“I think you’re going to see — unless the Vikings re-sign him by then, and they can’t use the franchise tag on him, the way his contract is structured — you’re going to see a potential tug of war between Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay for Kirk Cousins next March,” Florio said on the Rich Eisen Show. “Mark that down.”
It’s hard to say that Cousins wouldn’t be an upgrade at QB, even with Purdy’s impressive rookie stretch. Landing a higher-end NFL QB may be the final step the 49ers need to take to make a Super Bowl return.
