49ers' George Kittle Pens Emotional Note After Brutal Injury
George Kittle ‘Football Sucks Sometimes’ ... Opens Up On Injury
George Kittle is usually the guy smiling through contact ... but even the NFL’s toughest tight end is admitting this one stings.
The San Francisco 49ers’ All-Pro team captain tore his right Achilles on Sunday, ending his season during the team’s 23-19 victory to dethrone the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs.
Kittle later took to Instagram with a raw, emotional post of him and his wife, Claire, in the locker room, straight-up telling fans "football sucks sometimes."
Not exactly the rah-rah cliché you'd expect, but Kittle didn’t stop there.
The Pro Bowler made it clear he’s far from broken ... saying he loves the game, his teammates and is overwhelmed by the love pouring in.
"Heartbroken but have felt so much love and support from everyone reaching out," Kittle wrote. "I’ll be good. Thank you. We aren’t done yet!"
The grueling injury often takes about nine months to fully recover from -- placing the 32-year-old’s NFL future in jeopardy as he enters his 10th season.
Teammates such as Christian McCaffrey, Ricky Pearsall, Eddy Pineiro and Demarcus Robinson were among the flood of comments offering support to Kittle, who also seemingly confirmed reports of the bottle of Patrón delivered to the locker room after he was carted off.
Kittle said, "You know you’re in a special place" when team owner Jed York is the first person to meet you in the locker room. York was reportedly the one who sent the bottle.
George capped off his note with a glass-raising emoji and a promise that San Francisco still has big goals this season as they gear up for a showdown with their NFC West rival Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round.