George Kittle is the kind of player whose absence can change the entire shape of an offense.
When news broke that the San Francisco 49ers had placed him on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, it cast a bit of a shadow over the first month of their season. Kittle won’t be eligible to return until Week 6 at the earliest, leaving San Francisco with Luke Farrell, Jake Tonges and Brayden Willis in its TEs room.
Tonges caught three passes and a touchdown in San Francisco’s Week 1 win over the Seahawks, but adding a vet to help get the team by while Kittle is out may not be a bad idea. Mike Masala of Niners Wire thinks Hayden Hurst might be a solid option.
“Hurst, 32, played at South Carolina from 2015-17, earning All-SEC honors in his final season before the Baltimore Ravens took him with the 25th overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft,” Masala wrote. “He’s also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers. In 88 career games, he’s caught 203 passes for 1,975 yards and 15 touchdowns.”
A Look Back at Hurst’s Most Recent Seasons
GettyShould the 49ers sign veteran tight end Hayden Hurst with George Kittle on injured reserve?
With the Bengals in 2022, Hurst became a reliable option for QB Joe Burrow, catching 52 passes for 414 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games, including a key playoff score against the Buffalo Bills.
The 2023 season in Carolina told a different story. Hurst started strong but suffered a concussion in November that was later diagnosed as post-traumatic amnesia, effectively ending his season. He finished with 18 catches for 184 yards and a touchdown in nine games. By the end of that season, Hurst spoke openly about his recovery and desire to play again, and he returned to the field in 2024.
He caught on with the Chargers, but never found much of a rhythm in Jim Harbaugh’s offense. Eight catches for 73 yards across nine appearances and another late-season injury pushed him to the sidelines again, though he was cleared by year’s end.
Should the San Francisco 49ers Sign TE Hayden Hurst With George Kittle on IR?
For the 49ers, the logic here is pretty straightforward. Kittle’s absence leaves not only a gap in production but also a missing presence in the huddle, and Hurst might be a nice bridge. Instead of overloading Farrell or Tonges with responsibilities they’ve never carried, San Francisco could bring in Hurst as a stabilizer who understands how to play within structure.
Hurst also provides the kind of skill set that might make life easier for Brock Purdy. Even if he isn’t the mismatch creator Kittle is, he can still keep defenses honest in the red zone and over the middle of the field.
And perhaps most importantly, he’d come cheap. After back-to-back injury-affected years, Hurst’s market is firmly in the veteran minimum range, making him the type of low-risk addition San Francisco could add without denting the cap much.
If nothing else, it would buy time for Kittle to heal—and that’s a win in itself.
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