San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle has missed two straight days of practice with a groin injury, putting his availability for Sunday's opener in more doubt.
Kittle sat out practice on Wednesday and Thursday, typically two of the more important days for injured players to practice prior to a Sunday game. The 49ers will face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday night that he wasn't sure how serious Kittle's injury was, but considered him "day to day." Shanahan added he had hoped Kittle might have been able to practice on Wednesday.
The early Chicago forecast, which calls for rain around kickoff time, also could make Kittle a longer shot to play Week 1.
Sunday will be QB Trey Lance's third NFL start, but the two previous came as Jimmy Garoppolo's injury replacement. Now Lance has inherited the backup job, with Garoppolo sliding down to QB2 duties after reworking his contract.
If Kittle doesn't play, it makes Lance's job tougher. That said, in Lance's six appearances as a rookie, he only targeted Kittle four times on his 71 pass attempts, connecting for 29 yards. Kittle missed Lance's first NFL start against the Arizona Cardinals but played in the other five games in which Lance appeared last season.
