Kittle relayed during a recent podcast that he's played the past two seasons with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com reports.
Kittle opened preseason 2018 by separating his shoulder, which sidelined him for the rest of that exhibition season. However, he's avoided being listed on the injury report with 'shoulder' next to his name in the meantime and doesn't intend to have surgery to address it. Instead, Kittle tended to a myriad of other health concerns in the 2019 campaign, namely a lingering ankle issue that sidelined him Weeks 10 and 11. Despite the compromised health, he's totaled 173 catches (on 243 targets) for 2,430 yards and 10 TDs in his last 30 regular-season games, but only a 4-35-0 line on six targets in two playoff contests to date. He'll look to reverse the recent trend in the Super Bowl against a Chiefs defense that gave up the second-most receptions (98) to tight ends in 2019.