Kittle Set to Play vs Rams

George Kittle is set to play Week 1 against the Rams after clearing the final injury report with no game designation. The 49ers tight end and Nick Bosa both practiced limited all week in Melbourne and still landed without a designation for the Netflix opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground (5:35 p.m. PT Thursday, 10:35 a.m. AEST Friday), per ESPN and 49ers.com.

That is the checkpoint Kittle has been racing toward since he tore his right Achilles in the January 11 wild-card loss to the Eagles. Teammates have been raving about the rehab. Kyle Shanahan still sounded careful: "We've got to be smart with that. They both look great. But we definitely have got to be smart with that."

Expedited Achilles path, limited snaps likely

Kittle tore the Achilles higher in the leg, which he flagged early as a blood-flow edge for a faster return. He still had to clear every rehab box, come off PUP a couple of weeks ago, and ramp through three limited sessions this week. Brock Purdy called him a Hall of Fame-caliber piece who makes plays whenever he is out there. Expect a managed workload, not a full 2024 snap chart, on opening night in Australia.

Bosa's ACL return is the other headline on the same sheet. He is "100% ready to go" after a bumpy camp with patellar tendinitis, and he wants no snap limits. The Rams side of this rematch already changed when Aaron Donald stayed home and sat Week 1, so San Francisco's pass rush and tight end room both look closer to full strength than Los Angeles' interior does.

Collins out for the year

The ugly line on the report is Alfred Collins. The defensive tackle tore a patellar tendon in Tuesday's practice and is out for the 2026 season. Rookie James Thompson Jr. (hamstring) is questionable after limited work Wednesday and Thursday. Several other names (Greenlaw, Green, Gifford, and more) progressed to full and carry no designation.

For 49ers fans, this is the best injury-sheet version of Australia you could draw after a brutal offseason of rehab stories. Kittle back. Bosa back. Collins gone for the year is the tax. Watch how Shanahan actually deploys Kittle early, because "set to play" and "featured every-down TE" are not the same thing on an Achilles return. Melbourne still gets the reunion. The snap counts will tell the rest.