What George Kittle’s hamstring injury means for fantasy football in Week 2 and beyond

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed on Monday that tight end George Kittle will miss a few weeks with a hamstring injury. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later reported that the All-Pro could be sidelined three to five weeks. The 49ers placed him on injured reserve on Tuesday, meaning he’ll miss at least four weeks.

Kittle sustained the injury in the first half of the team’s 17-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in their Week 1 opener on Sunday. He had made already made a considerable impact for the Niners prior to his exit, catching four receptions for 25 yards and the team’s first touchdown of the 2025 campaign. The veteran entered the blue medical tent in the second quarter and was seen standing on the sideline wearing a baseball cap shortly afterwards, signaling that his day had come to a premature end.

As a refresher, players who go on IR must miss a minimum of four games and they will not count against the 53-man roster limit during that time. That means that the earliest Kittle would be able to return is for the team’s Week 6 road matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 12.

Kittle was a top-three fantasy tight end in average draft position heading into the 2025 campaign, so his absence will have a considerable impact on fantasy leagues in the early weeks of the regular season. It also continues the 49ers’ bad luck of star skill position players going down as last season saw both Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk missing considerable time with injuries of their own. Things may get even worse for the team in the coming days as Shanahan also revealed that there’s a possibility of starting quarterback Brock Purdy missing Sunday’s Week 2 matchup against the New Orleans Saints as well.

In Kittle’s absence, Luke Farrell will step in as TE1 for the 49ers while Jake Tonges will serve as TE2. It was Tonges fourth-quarter touchdown reception that lifted San Francisco over Seattle and that clutch score late in the game served as his first career touchdown.

Both Farrell and Tonges are rostered in less than 1% of fantasy leagues, so they should be a readily available option off the waiver wire if need be this week. However, Kittle managers most likely already have more sound and proven backup tight end options elsewhere and would be better off going with them for Week 2. If they still find themselves in a jam, then top waiver wire options like Saints tight end Juwan Johnson or Patriots tight end Hunter Henry would be a viable substitute.