SAN Francisco 49ers star George Kittle has revealed the toll his offseason recovery took on him.
Kittle, 30, is a five-time Pro Bowl tight end and one of the best at his position in the NFL.
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He finished the 2023 season with 1,020 receiving yards and six touchdowns, resulting in him being named a First-Team All-Pro for just the second time in his career.
However, Kittle’s excellent season took its toll on his body.
During a recent appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, he revealed that following their Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February he was “crushed,” leaving him with numerous injuries to deal with.
Along with a torn MCL in his big toe and a core injury, Kittle said he also refractured a rib during the Super Bowl.
If this wasn’t enough, Kittle also said while his “shoulders been messed up since high school,” during the Super Bowl he aggravated it, leaving him with an AC sprain and a chipped bone.
As a result of his injuries, and the subsequent recoveries, he said he wound up losing “almost 30 pounds.”
“I couldn’t lift,” Kittle said.
“I couldn’t do any upper body because of my shoulder and my rib, and I couldn’t do lower [body] because of my core surgery…
“I didn’t lift from the Super Bowl until like almost mid-March.
“I went a month without doing anything. I wasn’t supposed to do anything…My anxiety levels were pretty high.”
Thankfully for Kittle, he’s now on the path to recovery and looking to add around another 10 more pounds.
“It was tough, but I’m feeling great now, which is fantastic,” he said.
“I’d say I’m almost back to 100 percent.”
And it seems Kittle’s recovery has had another unexpected benefit.
He explained that with his shoulder now “mostly healed,” he’s once again able to throw a football, adding his labrum no longer hurts.
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“It’s like a kid that gets hit in the head and you wake up with a superpower,” Kittle joked.
Now with a new “superpower” in his arsenal, Kittle will return for his eighth NFL season on July 23 when training camp begins.
San Francisco will kick off their preseason at the Tennessee Titans on August 10.
Their regular season will begin on September 9 when they host the New York Jets.
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