George Kittle Emphasizes How Important Kyle Juszczyk is to 49ers

San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle recently appeared on the New Heights podcast hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce.

Kittle hopped on as part of his Tight End University summit. During the interview, Kittle was asked about Kyle Juszczyk, and he emphasized just how important Juszczyk is to the 49ers.

Kittle gives Juszczyk his flowers

"I don't know how our offense would survive without Juice because the amount of stuff we put on his plate. I'm just letting you know, that if I had to do the things that Juice had to do, I would be really upset all the time," said Kittle.

"They're like, 'Hey, we're going to have you bump, dash, then you're going to counter back, and we're gonna need you to dig out the three-technique and figure it out along the way. Also, you have to figure out the timing with the cadence from Purdy.' Sometimes the tackle accidentally picks up the three, so then Juice is replacing and picking up the guy he missed."

Well, that was a doozy, and it was only four sentences. All Kittle did was give a glimpse to what Juszczyk is responsible for in the 49ers' offense.

Just imagine what they all are. Kittle wasn't kidding about everything the 49ers put on his plate. If anything, he undersold how much it was.

"Juice is really our fixer. Anything that goes wrong with the play, it's usually him fixing something. He's an incredible football player. Guys who watch him and understand football, they're like 'That guy's a ball player right there'."

The crazy part about Kittle detailing how important Juszczyk is to the 49ers is that he didn't cite how solid he is as a receiver. Early on with the 49ers, he played a subtle but key role there.

Now, he's an afterthought. Part of that is so the 49ers don't wear him out. He does exhaust himself with a lot of duties after all.

The other part is that the 49ers don't need him to, especially with several other adequate receivers. Juszczyk is only used for sneaky plays, like when he leaks out on the opposite side of the field on play-action.

If it wasn't clear before, it should certainly be clear now that Juszczyk is crucial to the 49ers. He's in the last year of his deal, but it wouldn't be surprising at all if he re-signs.

Follow Jose on X (Twitter) @JS3sanchezz to interact with him on the 49ers and more.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as George Kittle Emphasizes How Important Kyle Juszczyk is to 49ers.

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This story was originally published July 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM.