The San Francisco 49ers might be on a 5-0 run on the gridiron. But their toughest opponent is lurking inside their own locker room. Ahead of the Week 6 game against the Washington Commanders, a bug has hit the roster, including George Kittle and possibly Colton McKivitz. That has sent a wave of panic across the fanbase.
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“There’s a bug going around the #49ers locker room – George Kittle had it in Seattle and now Colton McKivitz has it and likely Carver Willis who was missing from practice on Thursday,” NBC’s beat writer for the Niners, Jennifer Lee Chan, wrote on X. “Might have started when Eddy Piñeiro was ill a few weeks back.”
Taking to X, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Nick Wagoner revealed that Kittle was “expected to play” in the Week 5 game against the Seattle Seahawks despite having an illness. Shortly after the 49ers game against the Seahawks in Week 5, cameras caught Kittle discussing his sickness on the Wife’d Up, Mic’d Up podcast.
“I was in the bathroom when we got that touchdown right before the half,” Kittle told his family. “Right before we came back out [after halftime], I go to the bathroom. As I stand up, I projectile vomit. I’m standing with my pants around my ankles, I’m like, ‘You’ve got to be f—ing kidding me.”
He went on to claim that “it was disgusting.” But he was already feeling bad and had to spend 10 minutes vomiting into a trash can.
The Niners tight end played through the sickness and recorded five catches for 24 yards, helping the 49ers secure a 32-29 victory over the Seahawks.
Besides him, Piñeiro was sidelined in September 2026 due to illness. According to Jennifer Lee Chan, that could have been the beginning of the series of sickness in the San Francisco 49ers locker room. Last Thursday, Colton McKivitz was limited in practice due to illness. Chan suggested that the tackle might be down with sickness in Week 6 as well. Soon after Chan shared the update on X, football fans took to the comments section to weigh in on concerns about the players’ health.
“Wife up miked up – Kittle was projectile vomiting out of both ends in the locker room and he hadn’t eaten anything. How did he manage to play,” one fan wrote. “They need to stop sharing water bottles,” one fan added.
Meanwhile, one fan suggested that it might be the flu. This year, the flu season arrived early in the Bay Area, and San Francisco has already recorded one death due to the flu. That prompted the healthcare officials in San Francisco to urge people to get vaccinated right away.
“Flu,” a fan guessed in the comments. “No joke this year. My family is on week 2 of it. So. Was in the hospital for a week.” “The whole Bay Area has something going around,” another fan added.
But some fans seemed more concerned about the Niners quarterback, Brock Purdy. After all, he has led the Niners to five wins in five games this season. Through these five games, he completed 98 passes for 1,196 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. He faced only two interceptions and three sacks. If he goes down with illness, too, the Niners might face the heat on the gridiron.
“Somebody put a shield on Brock Purdy. OMFG. Burn the whole place and reallocate,” one more fan commented.
As the 49ers try to sanitize their facility and stop the bug in its tracks, all eyes will be on the final injury report heading into Week 6 on October 19.