SANTA CLARA — Now that Chase Young is a member of the 49ers defensive line, George Kittle is relieved he won't have to face the star pass rusher on New Year's Eve when San Francisco travels to Washington to play the Commanders at FedExField.
“I like having Chase Young on my football team,” Kittle said on Thursday. “It’s very fun. He’s massive. Look at him. He eats like a different human being too, it’s crazy.”
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The 49ers will attempt to get back to their dominating ways on defense, which has seen substantially lower productivity during their three-game losing streak leading into the Week 9 bye week. Kittle believes Young will have an immediate positive impact.
“He’s going to do great for us,” Kittle said. “Just looking forward to seeing him go out there. He’s going to look great in that [No.] 92. It’s crazy seeing ‘Young’ again on the back of a Niners jersey again. It’s kind of cool.”
Two years after suffering a torn ACL, Young has been impactful on the field in 2023, registering five quarterback sacks, nine hits and six tackles for a loss in seven games with Washington.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said that the 49ers immediately will give Young a chance to make an impact on the defensive front.
San Francisco 49ers
“I think he’s going to jump in right away,” Shanahan said on Wednesday. “First time we saw him was Monday. We had a slight small practice, and we’ll see him out there today really for a real practice.
“Hopefully he’ll pick up the stuff throughout the week and going to be out there a good bit on Sunday.”