SANTA CLARA — In George Kittle’s mind, the only missing were the stalks of corn.
That’s how the 49ers’ tight end described the motivation for building his own gym and 40-yard football field at his home on 75 acres just outside of Nashville.
“My facility probably cost me like a million dollars,” Kittle said Wednesday following 49ers practice. “It’s something I had a dream about. If you build it, they will come. A Field of Dreams reference there, a little Iowa stuff.”
While the 49ers offense has been debilitated during training camp with the hold-in by Brandon Aiyuk, the holdout by Trent Williams and a calf injury to Christian McCaffrey, looks as good as ever at age 30. A high-point reception for a touchdown against Ji’Ayir Brown from Brandon Allen was a practice highlight.
When the 49ers returned from Nashville after a 17-13 exhibition loss to the Titans, Kittle essentially dominated practice Monday, catching a handful of passes from Brock Purdy with the first-team offense.
Flash back to Feb. 11 and a 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas Kittle, as we now know from the Netflix documentary “Receivers,” had to remove himself from the game because he couldn’t reach his right arm above his head after taking a blow to the A-C joint.
On top of that, there was off-season core surgery which temporarily halted workouts and saw Kittle drop to 214 pounds. But there was no easing into training camp, because Kittle doesn’t ease into anything.
On the Friday before the 49ers played the Titans, Kittle, with his wife Claire doing the organizing, had 13 players who weren’t suiting up to his home office for a workout session and lunch.
Kittle said his agent told him after being drafted in the fifth round out of Iowa it would be wise to invest in himself.
“Nothing’s guaranteed. You don’t know how long you’re going to play,” Kittle said. “But when it comes to your body, that’s your business. So spend money on your body . . . you don’t need to go buy three cars, you don’t need to get everything you want. But when it comes to your body, ask vets that they do and then spend money on your body. I’ve done that every year to try and get back to 100 percent or make myself better every year in the best way possible.”
The 49ers worked out at George Kittle’s Nashville home before their preseason game on Saturday 🙌
[🎥 via @ranchodelkittle on IG] pic.twitter.com/DbHZeZEQUZ
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) August 11, 2024
Kittle has had some scheduled days off by order of coach Kyle Shanahan, but when he’s on the field there is no holding back. He set a torrid pace Monday, and was rewarded with several targets from Purdy.
“It’s not going to be the hardest practice of your career, and you’re not in pads, but you’ve got to go out there and work on stuff,” Kittle said. “Definitely it’s setting a tone.”
Coming off one of his best seasons receiving (65 receptions, 1,020 yards, six touchdowns) to go along with his talent and zeal for blocking, Kittle doesn’t feel as if he’s slowing down but isn’t interested in viewing himself through a Hall of Fame prism. With 460 receptions for 6,274 yards and 37 touchdowns to go along with his blocking skill, he’ll likely be a legitimate candidate.
“I’ve played good football, but I’ve got plenty of great football in front of me, so that’s all I’m going to focus on is one day at a time, and whenever the wheels fall off, it happens,” Kittle said. “I don’t really expect anything like that to happen soon. There’s a lot of great players on this team that allow me to better myself every single day.”
Many of those teammates, as well as others throughout the league, spend time working out with Kittle in the offseason.
“I like to put myself around real talented football players to compete against them, to see how they’re doing, but also to bring them a long with me because I feel I train at a real high level all the time,” Kittle said.
Beyond that, there’s the financial incentive as well.
“If you spend $50,000 on your body one offseason and it gives you one more year in the NFL, the vet minimum is a million dollars,” Kittle said. “I think that’s a pretty good investment.”
Missing joint scrimmages?
When Shanahan canceled joint scrimmages with the Saints Thursday and Friday at U.C. Irvine because of the 49ers’ number of injuries, it didn’t exactly break the heart of cornerback Charvarius “Mooney” Ward.
“I just want to stay in my comfort zone, get better, compete against each other,” Ward said. “We would have got the same amount of work in down there as up here. I just like being home better.”
While the offense has been hit much harder than the defense, defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen understands why Shanahan pulled the plug.
“The decision was about, is it what’s best for the team to make us ready for Week One?,” Sorensen said. “And I think it was just the right decision. How he explained it to everybody was exactly what he felt and I think it was the right choice.”
NOTABLE
— Newly inducted Hall of Fame member Patrick Willis was at practice and broke down the huddle after its conclusion. He was escorted to the linebacker group by Fred Warner.
— The 49ers released linebacker Ezekiel Turner and signed defensive tackle Nick Williams. Turner was signed primarily as a special teams player who was competing for an Oren Burks-type role. Williams arrives at the first practice following the news Kalia Davis would be out until at least midseason following knee surgery.
Linebackers fighting for a roster spot who could assume the Burks role include veteran Curtis Robinson, second-year player Jalen Graham and seventh-round draft pick Tatum Bethune.
— Safety Jaylen Mahoney had an interception of Tanner Mordecai on an underthrown pass intended for Chris Conley.
— Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell broke up a medium depth pass on a rollout by Purdy and continued to work in the first team with Fred Warner and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles when the 49ers were playing with three linebackers.
— Christian McCaffrey wasn’t on the field with the 49ers but did peek his head out of the weight area briefly. Shanahan has already ruled out McCaffrey for the preseason with a calf strain. McCaffrey didn’t play last year in the preseason even when healthy.
— George Odum was back at practice and working with the first team along with Ji’Ayir Brown after the birth of his daughter.
— Still not practicing but running some fairly serious sprints off to the side was running back Elijah Mitchell. Guard Spencer Burford was working hard off to the side and wasn’t wearing the bulky protective cast he’s had at previous sessions.
Talanoa Hufanga was out and will see a doctor Thursday for a report on his progress from ACL surgery.
— Place kicker Jake Moody continued his near-perfect training camp in terms of field goal attempts, nailing four attempts at the close of practice from distances ranging from 33 to 48 yards.