George Kittle played through a nasty illness to help the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks 32-29 in Week 5, and the former Iowa Hawkeyes star is now sharing just how rough that night really was.
The All-Pro tight end told reporters he was a shell of himself before kickoff at Lumen Field, then vomited for roughly 10 minutes in a stadium bathroom right after halftime. He still caught five passes for 24 yards in the win over the defending Super Bowl champions.
What Kittle Said About His Health
Speaking in the locker room after the Monday night game, Kittle said the illness had been dragging on for days before he finally turned the corner, according to Yahoo Sports.
“Really terrible, like a shell of myself,” Kittle said, according to Matt Lively of CBS Sports. “Horrible, not a lot of juice, but when you have enough caffeine in you, you can definitely play football. I don’t know. I was sick for like a while, and I feel like I just got over it today. So it’s been a grind, but we’re past it.”
Kittle estimated he lost about 10 pounds during the illness, and the Monday night kickoff gave him extra recovery time before the 49ers' next game. He said he is close to putting that weight back on.
“Oh, we’re close to it, so enough. But yeah, that was a grinder. But like I said, we made it through it,” Kittle told Lively. “Shout out to the training room. They gave me all the things I needed to keep me on the football field.”
The Halftime Incident Kittle Described in Detail
Kittle went into more detail on an episode of the “Wife’d Up, Mic’d Up” podcast, where he talked it through with his wife, Claire Kittle, and Kristin Juszczyk. He said he felt fine enough to start the game, but his stomach turned just after halftime with the 49ers leading 21-13.
“Right before we came back out [after halftime], I go to the bathroom. As I stand up, I projectile vomit,” Kittle said on the podcast. “I’m standing with my pants around my ankles; I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’”
He added that he projectile-vomited for about 10 minutes into a trash can before returning to the field. He finished the game without leaving the lineup.
Why This Matters to Iowa Fans
Kittle remains one of the most beloved players ever to come out of Iowa City, where he developed from an overlooked recruit into a seventh-round draft pick and eventual NFL star. His Hawkeye roots still follow him around the 49ers locker room.
Kittle once pranked then-rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, another Iowa product, by putting a hockey jersey in Purdy’s locker as a sarcastic jab at the state of Iowa’s lack of a hockey team. The two remain linked as the most prominent Hawkeyes in the NFL today, a storyline Iowa fans follow closely, much like they track the program’s next generation of talent, including