George Kittle (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
Football fans are convinced that San Francisco 49ers superstar tight end George Kittle just leaked the team’s Week 1 opponent.

The NFL announced on Monday that it will release the schedule this Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. EST on NFL Network. And if George Kittle’s Instagram activity is any indication, the 49ers will open their season against a familiar rival.

On his Instagram story, Kittle posted a photo of his interaction with then-Green Bay Packer and current New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, back in the 2021 NFC Divisional Round at Lambeau Field.

And yes, those very Jets are slated to visit the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium this year.

Here’s how fans on social media responded to Kittle’s intriguing post:

As part of the NFL’s schedule rotation, the AFC East (Jets, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots) will play the NFC West (49ers, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks). That means the first showdown between George Kittle’s 49ers and Aaron Rodgers since the 2021 Divisional Round.

So barring a showdown in the Super Bowl, the Jets-49ers 2024 meeting will most certainly mark the final chapter of Rodgers’ iconic rivalry with his childhood team. Based on the NFL’s schedule rotation, the Jets and 49ers wouldn’t meet again until 2026, when Rodgers would enter his age 45/46 season.

George Kittle & 49ers Try To Get Over The Super Bowl Hump

No team has suffered more NFL heartbreak over the last five years than George Kittle’s San Francisco 49ers, who have lost two Super Bowls and a pair of NFC Championship Games since 2019.

Both those Super Bowl losses came at the hands of Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs. And in both cases, the Chiefs erased 10-point deficits to win the game.

The good news for 49ers fans is that they’re running it back with the same core. George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa round out a star-studded 49ers roster that has more than enough pieces in place to win a sixth Lombardi Trophy.