George Kittle

George Kittle said he lost around 30 pounds after undergoing core muscle surgery this offseason.

Kittle in a podcast appearance said he was well below his 250-pound playing weight following his surgery. He sustained the core injury around midseason last year and played through it during the Niners’ Super Bowl run. “I couldn’t lift,” Kittle said. “I couldn’t do any upper body because of my shoulder and my rib, and I couldn’t do lower [body] because of my core surgery. … I didn’t lift from the Super Bowl until like almost mid-March. ... I went a month without doing anything, I wasn’t supposed to do anything.” Kittle, 30, plans to work this summer to gain back the weight he lost ahead of his eighth pro season. Last year, Kittle was tenth among tight ends in receptions (65) and first in receiving yards (1,023).