49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk on George Kittle’s Return Timeline from Achilles Tear

Kyle Juszczyk caught up with Rich the day before the 49ers begin Phase 3 of OTAs, taking his Memorial Day weekend off in Napa. He is going to BottleRock with George Kittle, who, by Juszczyk's accounting, is moving around pretty well.

"He's pretty dang mobile," Juszczyk told Rich. "He golfs with me with no handicaps."

Kittle tore an Achilles. The recovery timeline for that injury is the kind of thing that follows a player into August. Juszczyk's read, from inside the 49ers facility, is that Kittle is well ahead of schedule. He is playing golf without a cart. He is on his feet. He is heading to a music festival.

The festival, in case anyone is wondering, has Lil Wayne, Lorde, the Foo Fighters, the Backstreet Boys, and Ludacris on the schedule. Juszczyk had Lil Wayne circled.

The bigger Kittle-related question Rich was building toward was the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe. The celebrity golf tournament runs the week before training camps open. Kittle, the rumor goes, may attend. Juszczyk has been pushing him.

"I don't know what his final decision has been on that one," Juszczyk said. "I hope he makes it."

Rich raised the only complication. The optics. If Kittle plays in a celebrity tournament a week before camp and then is not available for Week 1, the headlines write themselves. The cast agreed Kittle is not the type to use the tournament as an excuse for anything, but in modern football news cycles, the implication is what matters.

Juszczyk's read on Kittle's mentality was specific.

"He doesn't strike me as an excuses guy," Juszczyk said.

Rich, who plays in the American Century Championship himself and is returning this year, offered a structural solution. He said he speaks for the event when he says Kittle would be welcome at the tournament even if he chose not to golf.

"Any event plus George Kittle, that's value added," Rich said. "That event just got a little bit better."

Juszczyk agreed. The takeaway is that Kittle is healthy enough for golf and possibly more, the Achilles recovery is tracking, and the 49ers tight end will probably end up in Tahoe one way or another.

Whether he plays is a Kittle call. Whether the headlines arrive on Week 1, depending on his availability, is also a Kittle call.

For now, Lil Wayne is the priority.