How Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges helped mitigate 49ers’ losses of Kittle, Juszczyk

SANTA CLARA The ers have been described as a gang with a wide chasm between established stars journeymen hoping to make the roster and rookies who are learning the ropes Nowhere is that gulf as wide as tight end The ers signed Luke Farrell to a three-year contract to complement George Kittle a franchise icon and possibly the best two-way receiving blocking tight end in the NFL Also in the mix is Jake Tonges the Los Gatos High and Cal product who looked to be a fringe contestant who had a - shot at making the -man roster Kittle left with a hamstring strain early in Seattle was placed on injured reserve and will miss at a minimum three more games including Sunday s home opener against the Arizona Cardinals p m Fox If that wasn t enough fullback Kyle Juszczyk was done after plays with a concussion in a - win over New Orleans in Week When it happens it s like OK it s just us now Farrell mentioned That meant tight ends mostly Tonges had to take Juszczyk s position in the backfield in formations that called for a fullback We think about situations like that in the week leading up to the meeting Tonges commented Wednesday What if something were to happen My role is to fill in for whoever is going down so I ve consistently paid a lot of attention to the fullback stuff If Juszczyk in his th season doesn t clear concussion protocol it will be Farrell and Tonges again this time with a side of Brayden Willis who was promoted Wednesday from the practice squad Given that Kittle and Juszczyk are the only two ers who have been with the unit throughout the tenure of coach Kyle Shanahan starting in it s far from ideal in an NFC West meeting between two teams with - records Yet Farrell and Tonges have made it work Each has scored a touchdown with Farrell getting the first of his career on an -yard reception from Mac Jones against New Orleans He played four seasons with Jacksonville was targeted times and caught passes for yards while primarily operating as a -foot- -pound in-line blocker Jake Tonges celebrates with Luke Farrell center and Kyle Juszczyk after scoring a touchdown on a -yard pass against Seattlle in Week A P Photo It was pretty incredible Farrell noted There are plays every match where you have opportunities and for four years of my career it hasn t come up I ve been putting my head down working for it I think I had one target in the red zone in my whole career really and it was at Houston Red zone targets for me have been very limited in general Tonges - had never even caught an NFL pass until the Seattle tournament where two completions preceded a game-winning -yard touchdown reception where he essentially stole the ball from Seattle defensive back Riq Woolen He was even busier against the Seahawks with snaps of them coming out of the backfield with Farrell getting two because of Juszczyk s absence On Farrell s touchdown against New Orleans Tonges helped clear the way with a block of safety Justin Reid Keep in mind Kittle and Juszczyk have been in Shanahan s system since and understand every nuance while Tonges and Farrell are in their regular-season championship with the ers And since both Kittle and Juszczyk were in-game injuries the ers tight ends were adjusting on the fly to roles that differed from the original championship plan They operated flawlessly in terms of assignments Signed originally as an undrafted free agent by Chicago in Tonges got several work in fullback and played in four games but realized he d have to step up his challenge in that position to stick on the ers -man roster I demanded to carry that into my role here and make the coaches know I can do both I can be ready to do both Tonges declared The more you can do the better Tonges did well enough that he made the band at the expense of Ross Dwelly a former er who spent last year with the Atlanta Falcons He came in as more of a pass challenge guy and if you re a tight end and you re just a pass contest guy you can call yourself a tight end but you re really just another receiver Shanahan reported You ve got to be able to block He s shown us that He s been able to do it from the I at the fullback position and has been able to do it at the line of scrimmage After the Saints win McCaffrey marveled at how an offense with so various moving parts to compensate for injured players could be so smooth in a nine-play -yard touchdown pass in just over a minute before halftime Farrell and Tonges have stood out in that regard Related Articles ers Brock Purdy returning to practice chance he plays in home opener against Cardinals ers Fred Warner receives fourth NFC Athlete of Week honors of career Kurtenbach Rookie Connor Colby s strong competition justifies the ers Brawnyball O-line approach Greg Papa returns to his KNBR show amid leukemia healing Why ers biggest moment came in the final minute of first half in win over Saints They ve stepped up so big the last two weeks McCaffrey noted It s a big test with guys like George and Juice who are the leaders of that room but they ve been so good man To see guys step up and do things they haven t done through camp it s been awesome Farrell was impressed as well In the second match of the season that s where you usually get little errors here and there which is just a product of it being early in the season Farrell announced For us to not have that it s pretty cool