Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan alluded to possibly holding star tight end George Kittle out of Week 3 due to the turf at Metlife Stadium.

The 49ers suffered a rash of serious injuries in Week 2 against the Jets and have attributed them at least in part to poor field conditions at Metlife Stadium. Kittle is working his way back from a sprained knee and the 49ers will not want to take any chances with their superstar tight end that just signed a massive extension heading into this season. Hopefully Shanahan will provide updates on Kittle's status later in the week, but it's possible fantasy players will not know his status until Sunday morning inactives are released.

49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday that tight end George Kittle will return to practice in a limited fashion.

Kittle sat out Week 2 and Jordan Reed thrived in his absence, but it looks like Kittle may be on track to return for a Week 3 matchup with the Giants. Kittle is an elite TE1 option and a must-start anytime he takes the field, but it is unlikely he is back to 100% even if he does take the field Sunday. Kittle's return would be a big boost to a 49ers team decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball.

Remember, George Kittle set the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end in a season in which Nick Mullens started the last eight games. Those were mostly run-after-catch yards.

Obviously, Kittle (knee) is iffy for Sunday’s game on MetLife Stadium’s bouncy-house field. If he’s not there, I’d imagine Jordan Reed is a frequent target.

Kendrick Bourne and Dante Pettis also had good production when Mullens was under center in 2018. Mullens also threw to Matt Breida out of the backfield quite a bit, which makes Mullens a potentially good pairing with Jerick McKinnon.

Of Bourne’s 487 receiving yards, 296 came when Mullens was the quarterback. Pettis had his best NFL stretch with Mullens throwing to him — 371 of his 467 receiving yards came in the last eight games of 2018, the story said. With RBs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman likely missing Week 3, McKinnon is potentially a nice play this week at RB.

49ers TE Jordan Reed is expected to see a significant increase in his playing time, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. The veteran played 10 snaps in Week 1 in his debut for San Francisco. George Kittle has been ruled out for Sunday's Week 2 matchup against the New York Jets.

Reed will get a chance to be a consistent target for Jimmy Garappolo out of necessity. The bar will be set pretty low for Reed in terms of production. He is on the TE 3 radar heading into Sunday's game.

49ers TE George Kittle will not play Sunday against the New York Jets, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Related players: Jordan Reed, Ross Dwelley

The 49ers lose their top offensive weapon for at least Week 2. Jordan Reed or Ross Dwelley will start, and both figure to see targets from Jimmy Garappolo.

49ers TE George Kittle is not practicing Friday, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Kittle did not have to practice to play Sunday, but would have liked to see him on the field.

Kittle is a true of a game-time decision as any this Sunday. If he does play, there is no guarantee he is effective or is only used as a decoy. It is imperative to have another tight end option to plug in.

According to Cam Inman on Twitter, George Kittle is not participating in Thursday’s practice session.

George Kittle missing a Thursday practice is a concern, but we all know that he is a warrior who will push to be out there on Sunday, even if he is unable to practice during the week. Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the sentiment saying this: “[H]e’s battling,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday. “We thought it’d be all right, woke up the next day a little sore. He fully expects to be there Sunday like he always does. Just like he always plays through the game when it happens, but we’ll give him the whole week. Always love to get them out there on Friday. We’ll see how that goes. Friday’s just a walkthrough anyways, but Kittle is one guy that if he’s ready to go on Sunday and the doctors say he’s good to go, we have no problem with him going without practicing". We expect Kittle to suit up Sunday, and currently have him ranked as our number two tight end for Week 2.