49ers Respond to George Kittle Injury By Signing New Tight End for Depth

San Francisco 49ers Sign Tight End To Help Navigate George Kittle Absence

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Messiah Swinson warms up before a game against the Browns on August 10, 2024.

On Wednesday September 10, 2025 the San Francisco 49ers announced they signed tight end Messiah Swinson to their practice squad.

The signing of Swinson comes after the 49ers placed superstar tight end George Kittle on injured reserve. Kittle will miss at least the 49ers’ next four games, and will be eligible to return to the lineup for San Francisco’s Week 6 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With George Kittle out, the 49ers only have two tight ends active on their 53-man roster, veteran free agent signing Luke Farrell and Week 1 hero Jake Tonges. The 49ers also have TE Brayden Willis on their practice squad.

Either Willis or Swinson is almost certainly going to be activated from the practice squad for the 49ers’ Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints. More likely than not Willis will be activated, because he has been part of the 49ers organization since 2023 and knows the offense at a much deeper level than Swinson.

All About Messiah Swinson

Messiah Swinson is a 25-year old tight end who initially broke into the NFL when he signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2024.

That long-awaited NFL career came after six years in college, four at Missouri and the final two at Arizona State.

In his four years at Missouri, he never really made an impact on the passing game. He totaled only 7 receptions for 84 yards in those four years.

But with Arizona State, he not only carved out more playing time but more production. After playing in only 23 games in four years at Missouri, he played 24 in just two years at Arizona State. He contributed 21 catches for 233 yards and 2 touchdowns in those two seasons.

During Swinson’s first tenure in Green Bay after the 2024 offseason, he was on the Packers practice squad until one day the Carolina Panthers signed him off the Green Bay practice squad to their active roster.

But the Panthers waived him after just three weeks, and he resigned with the Packers practice squad. He spent all of 2025 training camp and the preseason in Green Bay before he was released on August 26, 2025 as part of final roster cuts.

He has yet to appear in an NFL game, so if the 49ers press him into service at any point, it will be his NFL debut.

49ers Also Consider Signing A Quarterback

George Kittle unfortunately wasn’t the only major injury the 49ers sustained during Week 1.

Franchise quarterback Brock Purdy is dealing with a toe and a left shoulder injury. The toe is the more serious concern. It will almost certainly cause Purdy to miss Week 2. Backup Mac Jones is set to get the start for the 49ers.

But with Jones starting and Purdy unable to play, the 49ers are not comfortable with their QB situation behind Jones. Their only other rostered quarterback, Adrian Martinez, is on the practice squad and has never attempted an NFL pass.

The 49ers hosted veteran QB Mike White for a workout on Wednesday September 10, 2025. But on Thursday, Eric Branch reported that the 49ers are not signing White.

The roster gymnastics they would need to do to sign another QB may prevent them from doing so. In that case, Martinez will be QB2 Sunday.

49ers fans, are you excited to have Messiah Swinson in town? Do you think the 49ers need to add another QB?

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for heavy.com. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman