San Francisco 49ers superstar tight end George Kittle will be active for Week 16's contest against the Arizona Cardinals.

Kittle has been sidelined since Week 8 with the foot injury but is set to provide a major boost to fantasy managers who decided to stash him on IR. Our fifth ranked tight end for Week 16, Kittle may see his snaps slightly scaled back but should remain a focal point of the offense. Kittle was the number two tight end when healthy, pacing the position with 24.7% of his team's air yards and ranking second with a stellar 25.7% target share.

Tight end George Kittle is on pace to play Saturday when the 49ers, despite being eliminated from playoff contention, play the host Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium.

Kittle has been out since sustaining a Nov. 1 foot fracture in Seattle.

The story asks why play Kittle with the 49ers eliminated from the playoffs, HC Kyle Shanahan responded: “If he’s healthy I don’t see the reason why not to. Same with every other player on our roster,” Shanahan said. “We’d never ask him to play injured. Most of the soreness is going away. We’ll definitely test it again. If he’s 100 percent healthy, how do you sit one guy and look in the eye of everyone else on the team? There’s a respect level players have toward each other.” If Kittle is on your wire, he's a must-add for your fantasy finals or any kind of playoff game that can win you money.

The 49ers designated tight end George Kittle to return from injured reserve on Wednesday as he recovers from a broken foot.

The designation opens up a three-week window for Kittle to return to practice. We will have to see if Kittle actually returns to practice this week, but he would add an interesting element to the 49ers' passing game if he should return before the fantasy season is concluded. Monitor the practice reports out of San Francisco for Kittle's status.

Kyle Shanahan was asked about the prospect of getting George Kittle and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo back into the lineup. Garoppolo suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team’s November 1 loss to the Seahawks, which was the same day that Kittle was injured and Shanahan suggested both players need more time before they can think about activating them from injured reserve.

“Those guys are working their tails off right now,” Shanahan said, via Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. “But they’re still part of the rehab, just trying to get back and be a part of this, but it’s not anytime soon right now.”

Kittle said last week that he expects to return from a broken bone in his foot “sooner than later,” according to the story, which caused a bit of a buzz and likely had fantasy owners scrambling to pick up Kittle off the wire and stash him on IR. While anything can happen, those hopes seem to be squashed based on this story. Still, if you can afford to stash Kittle on IR as you head into the fantasy playoffs, it may not be a terrible idea. However roster sports are extra valuable right now.

The 49ers have been without start tight end George Kittle and starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the last month, but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

“I’m holding out hope for Jimmy for the last couple of weeks,” San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said, via Cam Inman of The Mercury News. “Same with Kittle. I think they’re in a similar boat, but that I mean that’s not guaranteed.”

Related players: Nick Mullens, Jordan Reed

Kittle is a name to pay attention to especially. If he's popped up on your waiver wire, you may want to take a shot on picking up a potential stud if you're planning a deep playoff run. Kittle can be stashed on IR until the timeline becomes more clear. If the 9ers are able to make the playoffs, it seems like both players may have a shot to be back by then.

Further testing on the injury that knocked star tight end George Kittle out of the game revealed that he has a small fracture in his foot. According to a report from NFL Network, Kittle will miss extended time due to the injury. ESPN reported that Kittle will miss at least eight weeks.

Related players: Dwelley

Kittle's season may very well be over at this point. It's likely that Ross Dwelley will see additional snaps at tight end, and could be an immediate fantasy fill-in, while fullback Kyle Juszczyk should see increased usage as well. Kittle is key not only to the 49ers' passing game, but also their rushing attack. He's the best blocking tight end in the league, acting essentially as an additional offensive lineman. San Francisco may have to adjust some things in the run game to account for his absence, the story said. The team also lost QB Jimmy Garoppolo for an indefinite amount of time due to a lingering high ankle sprain.

X-rays Sunday on George Kittle’s ankle revealed no fracture.

Certainly good news but Kittle has further testing coming to determine any sort of damage to his ankle that took him out of Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks. Kittle finished with two catches for 39 yards as the reigning NFC champions fell to 4-4. We can certainly count him out for Week 9 as the 49ers have a short week, hosting Green Bay on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship.

49ers RB Tevin Coleman left Sunday’s game against the Seahawks with a knee injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. It’s very unfortunate as he had just been activated from injured reserve. JaMycal Hasty took over as the lead back and has scored a touchdown, though Sunday has been pretty rough for the 49ers with Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle also limping off the field.