On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers knocked the Philadelphia Eagles out of the postseason with a 23-19 win. That was the good news for the 49ers; the bad news is that tight end George Kittle left the game early with an injury to his Achilles tendon. That type of injury is not uncommon in professional sports; what’s more singular is what Kittle did in the locker room to recuperate. Hint: it involved tequila.
As SF Gate’s Alex Simon reports, Kittle had a pretty good idea of what he wanted in the locker room after exiting the game. As the team’s medical staff evaluated Kittle’s injury, he also talked with the team’s owner, Jed York. Shortly thereafter, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that there was something unusual happening behind the scenes.
“A San Francisco 49ers employee just walked into the locker room carrying what appeared to be a bottle of tequila. Best guess? It’s for George Kittle,” she wrote. Russini was correct: as Simons notes, Kittle was indeed nursing his injury with a bottle of tequila. (Patrón, specifically.) By the end of the game, the bottle — which was from York — was empty.
The 50 Best Bottles of Tequila for Cinco de Mayo
We tested entirely too much tequila to identify the ideal bottles for sipping, shots and cocktails, including a few surprisesFor Kittle’s teammates, their next step towards a Super Bowl appearance will come this weekend, when they play the Seattle Seahawks. As for Kittle, his next step will likely involve learning how long his injury will keep him off the field — though presumably that will be an amount measured in months rather than weeks. In an article on his injury history, The Sporting News‘ Daniel Mader writes that Kittle “was set to be out for the remainder of the playoffs and potentially part of the 2026 regular season.” Will that call for more tequila? If so, we can make some recommendations.
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