San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle is progressing faster than expected in his recovery from a torn Achilles suffered in January, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Kittle visited Wednesday in Los Angeles with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the renowned orthopedic surgeon who performed the initial surgery, and the checkup was described as encouraging.
Kittle's ahead-of-schedule recovery gives him a legitimate chance to play in the 49ers' regular season opener against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia, according to the reporting. Kittle was placed on the PUP list ahead of the season. While multiple outlets characterized the news positively, they stopped short of guaranteeing his availability for Week 1, instead emphasizing the improved timeline makes his participation possible.