49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik noted that Lance’s rapport with receiver Brandon Aiyuk, with whom he trained this offseason, is better now than it is with other 49ers’ targets like Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, per The Athletic article.

Related Players: Deebo Samuel, George Kittle

An unrelated note from Rohan Chakravarthi (@RohanChakrav) said that Trey Lance is mainly operating less than 10 yards down the field, so maybe a dink-and-dunk, run-centric offense is going to benefit Brandon Aiyuk. At this time last year, Aiyuk was coming off of fantasy draft boards much before Deebo Samuel, possibly a year too early.

The San Francisco 49ers are signing TE Tyler Kroft to a one-year deal.

Related Players: George Kittle, Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley

Kroft will compete for snaps alongside/behind George Kittle, which means a reduced role for the veteran. Kittle's injury history does put Kroft in play as a waiver wire pick-up during the season, and Kroft has had the most success amongst the remaining tight ends with the 49ers.

49ers RB Elijah Mitchell (concussion) and TE George Kittle (knee soreness) were not practicing Wednesday.

Related Players: JaMycal Hasty, Jeff Wilson Jr.

The hope was to have Mitchell carry the load Week 15, but no practice for him puts that in jeopardy.

Kittle should be good and his absence considered more of a precaution.

49ers TE George Kittle (calf) will be activated from IR Saturday.

Time to fire up Kittle in fantasy. He will be a top seven option immediately.

Tight end George Kittle is set to take a step back toward the 49ers lineup on Wednesday.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the plan is for Kittle to take part in practice for the first time since he went on injured reserve with a calf injury in early October.

Kittle has missed three games as a result of the injury, but could be in the lineup for Sunday’s home game against the Cardinals if all goes well this week, the story speculated.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan told reporters Wednesday that TE George Kittle (calf) is expected back Week 9.

Related Player: Ross Dwelley

Getting your top pass catcher back is a huge boon for either Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Lance at QB. More on this if/when Kittle is activated from IR.

According to the report this appears to be a precautionary measure to fortify Kittle’s health for the remainder of the season. The move will keep Kittle on the sidelines for at least three weeks with a potential return slated for Week 9’s NFC West clash with the Cardinals.

On the field, Kittle’s impact cannot be replaced, but in fantasy expect Ross Dwelley to become a legitimate streaming candidate at tight end. Deebo Samuel should see his floor rise based on increased opportunity, while Brandon Aiyuk could be the biggest beneficiary of Kittle’s absence.

According to the report this appears to be a precautionary measure to fortify Kittle’s health for the remainder of the season. The move will keep Kittle on the sidelines for at least three weeks with a potential return slated for Week 9’s NFC West clash with the Cardinals.

On the field, Kittle’s impact cannot be replaced, but in fantasy expect Ross Dwelley to become a legitimate streaming candidate at tight end. Deebo Samuel should see his floor rise based on increased opportunity, while Brandon Aiyuk could be the biggest beneficiary of Kittle’s absence.

49ers TE George Kittle (calf) is doubtful for Week 5 at Arizona.

Kittle's expected absence is a big loss with Trey Lance making his first career start. Ross Dwelley would start in Kittle's place.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle missed Thursday's practice session with a calf injury.

Kittle missed two practices to start last week but was able to practice on Friday and suit up for Sunday, so the expectation is that he will follow the same routine here. It is always concerning when a player misses back-to-back practices, but as we have seen with other top players, Kittle can be ready to roll with just one practice session under his belt. Fantasy managers will want to monitor this situation closely as he will likely be receiving a questionable tag on Friday's final injury report.