The San Francisco 49ers are set to take on the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia next week in their first game of the 2026 NFL season, and on Wednesday they're leaving on their long flight to get acclimated to the time difference as early as possible.
With the team leaving early, this has forced them to make decisions on some injured players, and according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the 49ers are taking tight end George Kittle with them, as he gears up to return from a torn Achilles.
Kittle suffered that injury in San Francisco's upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round, so the fact that he's on the verge of playing in Week 1 is incredible. Obviously, the 49ers aren't going to push the tight end if he's not ready, but this will give him a shot to return for the season opener.
On top of that, the 49ers are also bringing defensive end Nick Bosa to Australia for Week 1. The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year and five-time Pro Bowler suffered a torn ACL in Week 3 of last year, and if he's feeling good by next week, he'll have an opportunity to play against the Rams.
Considering how much Los Angeles has improved this offseason, with the return of Aaron Donald and the additions of Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, the 49ers could use Kittle and Bosa in this divisional matchup.
More 49ers: 49ers DE has hilarious plan for dealing with long flight to Australia
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers TE George Kittle to take another big step to playing in Week 1