Stats & Eggs Podcast: Will George Kittle see the field again this year?

With the playoffs all but out of reach, most teams throttle down, rest their injured players, and begin the long process of evaluating the team for the season to come. Not the 49ers, though, and not Kyle Shanahan.

Asked yesterday whether a loss to Dallas means George Kittle would be placed on the shelf for the rest of 2020, here’s what he said:

“I would think about it a lot differently. I’m not saying for sure no. If I thought it would help him and I thought it would help our team, definitely. I mean, there’s more things to it than just making the playoffs. Obviously, that’s the number one thing, but it would have to do with what George, if he’s risking anything, then it’d be an easy decision. We wouldn’t even think about it, but if he could 100-percent come back and be normal, then that’s something I’ll talk to him about, talk to John Lynch about it and we’ll figure out what’s best for him and the team.”

This is crazy to me. What could the team or Kittle possibly have to gain by getting back out on the field for three meaningless games at the end of a lost season? If anything, the team has something to lose because a win would hurt their draft stock.

And as far as there being, “more things to it than just making the playoffs,” what would those be, exactly? Someone needs to explain that one to me.

To hear more of me losing my mind about that quote as well as the least-enthusiastic selection of a starting quarterback in the history of pro football, check out today’s Stats & Eggs Podcast. You’ll get up to date on everything you need to know in less than five minutes.