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The San Francisco 49ers’ practice facility theory, where being positioned next to an electrical substation is causing an increase in injuries, remains alive after tight end George Kittle’s comments during a recent interview.
Kittle, who suffered a torn Achilles in the 49ers’ Wild Card Round loss to the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks, spoke with Complex on Wednesday where he was asked about this theory.
While Kittle doesn’t believe it’s true, he does want further investigation into it because of something he noticed during his rookie year in 2017.
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George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers is carted off the field during the second quarter in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
As Kittle was focused on making an impact with his NFL squad, one of his veteran teammates pointed out that the trees between the team’s facility and the substation never grew the leaves it should all year.
The NFL had the trees cut down this year, Kittle added.
“(The trees aren’t) there anymore, so no one can see them,” Kittle said. “So, it’s only us vets that know that was the truth. I don’t think anyone talked about that yet. That one messed me up.”
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Again, Kittle doesn’t believe the rumors are true, but he also wants a definitive answer. He added that teammate Kyle Juszczyk and others feel the same.
“As a professional athlete, you’re always trying to get one percent better. If something’s affecting you negatively .25%, you’d want to know about it. All we’re saying as players is we’d like them to look into it to make sure it’s not something,” Kittle said.
To back Kittle’s thought that the substation isn’t doing anything to the players, he noted Fred Warner, who suffered a broken ankle in October that knocked him out for the season. Warner trains at the facility year-round, and the ankle injury was the only major one he’s had in his career.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) looks on during San Francisco 49ers minicamp on June 10, 2025 at SAP Performance Facility in Santa Clara, CA. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Digital also spoke to some of Kittle’s teammates during Super Bowl LX week, including Warner, Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, all of which were content with the facility.
“Dude, I am not a scientist, and I’m not a doctor. Look, we’ll play anywhere. You know, for us, I think that’s stuff that a lot of people smarter than me can talk about,” McCaffrey told Digital on radio row.
“All I know is, you know, there’s too many variables in football to just say that something like that is the reason for injuries. I mean, you can do everything right and bad things can still happen, so.”
The theory, which has now gone viral, suggests the 49ers’ unusually high number of soft tissue and non-contact injuries could be due to the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from the substation. The claim is that being around the substation for years could weaken tendons and soft tissue, leading to serious injury like an ACL or Achilles tear.
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) watches from the sideline in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos at Levi’s Stadium on Aug. 9, 2025. (David Gonzales/Imagn Images)
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McCaffrey, Kittle, Purdy, Nick Bosa, Dre Greenlaw, Ricky Pearsall, and numerous others have dealt with those types of injuries over the last couple of seasons, which the theory points at.
ESPN reported in January that the team does plan to investigate every theory, not just the one involving the substation, this offseason to determine why their injury list was so long in 2025.
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