George Kittle has to be missing his former San Francisco 49ers tight end coach, Jon Embree. So much so that he felt the need to send him a text a 3:00 am to show off his blocking skills.
Embree now is coaching the same group for the Miami Dolphins and Kittle wasn’t overly thrilled when he left. His time with Embree bonded them together and Embree made him into the tight end he is today.
George Kittle sending texts to his old position coach
The story of his text goes like this, Embree was asked about Mike Gesicki’s statistical numbers through four games of the season. Embree pointed out that he didn’t really care about his numbers, and then cited a text from Kittle.
Fins TE coach Embree when asked about Gesicki having 71 receiving yards: "I got a text from George Kittle Tuesday morning at 3 a.m. and it was video of him against the Rams knocking a DB on his behind. That's what we want, that mentality here. It's not how many passes you catch."
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) October 6, 2022
Kittle is a phenomenal blocking tight end who is also more than capable of making a big dent in the 49ers‘ passing game. He is one of the elite tight ends in the NFL.
In 2020, Kittle signed a new contract that will pay him upwards of $75 million over the course of seven seasons. He is currently under contract until 2026 barring any cost-cutting moves down the road.
Kittle will count the following over the next few years.
- 2023 – $18 million cap – $21 million dead – $3.1 million savings
- 2024 – $19.8 million cap – $10.4 million dead – $9.3 million savings
- 2025 – $17.5 million cap – $4.6 million dead – $12 million savings
- 2026 – $2.08 million cap – $2.08 million dead – $0.0 savings
Through two games thus far, he missed the first two games of the season, and he has 6 receptions on nine targets for 52 yards. He has not made it into the red zone yet.
Kittle is obviously proud of his physical play and he should be, the fact he would think of Embree is a testament to the respect he has for his former unit coach.