Soon-to-be Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald took time from all his side golf bets at the American Century Championship to reflect on his Arizona Cardinals and their chances this season.“They could have a miraculous turnaround and still finish fourth in the division,” the retired receiver said in Stateline, Nev., on Thursday. “Seattle’s coming off a Super Bowl. The Rams just traded for Myles Garrett. And the 49ers are healthy. It’s not the division you want to be in.”And the 49ers are healthy …Not quite, but they are trending in that direction with training camp starting in two weeks. Top linebacker Fred Warner is already back to 100 percent after missing the final 11 games last season with a broken ankle. Tight end George Kittle is ahead of schedule in his return from a torn Achilles, while defensive ends Nick Bosa (knee), Mykel Williams (knee) and Keion White (gunshot wound) all might be ready for the start of camp.San Francisco 49ers group of skill players is 'absolutely terrifying'Robert Mays“Somehow we won 13 games with like half of our team, which was just like, it’s a testament to this team and the foundation we’ve built as leaders,” Kittle said last month. “And then this year, you know, it’s just fun seeing everybody around.”Kittle spent a lot of time on an anti-gravity treadmill at home and was doing some light cutting in workouts three weeks ago.“I’m 21 weeks out, and I’m running over 16 miles an hour, so I’m having a great time,” Kittle told the “Pardon My Take” podcast during the Tight End University summit that he hosts in Nashville every year with Travis Kelce and Greg Olsen. “Single-leg box jumps, we’re cutting again, we’re having some fun.”Fullback Kyle Juszczyk has spent a lot of time with Kittle in the last month, with the close friends following up an appearance at the Tight End University summit with invites to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding. And he has been impressed with Kittle’s workouts.“It’s crazy, because we were talking November for his return at first,” Juszczyk said Friday at the American Century Championship. “But he has been working really hard, and his speed is way up in the drills that he does, and I think there is a real chance he is back for the opener in Australia.”The 49ers travel 16 hours to play the Rams in that game, and the Rams will have Garrett to chase Brock Purdy, as well as Aaron Donald, if you believe the TMZ reports that he is working hard to come out of retirement. It’s not quite the same, but the Niners hope to be well stocked on the defensive line too.While Bosa said last month that he is “pretty far along” in his recovery, both Williams and White have made great strides the last month. Williams tore his ACL on Nov. 2 and was working with resistance bands at the 49ers’ workouts last month, but he has progressed enough that the expectation is that he will be ready to return to the field very early at camp, if not for the beginning.Williams has called Bosa — who tore his ACL six weeks earlier — a “real big brother” in helping him on the road back from knee surgery.White, meanwhile, has been posting social media videos of his workouts, showing explosive side-to-side movement as well as sprinting on the treadmill. He was shot in the ankle at 4 a.m. in San Francisco after a party at a nightclub for the nearby Super Bowl in February, and San Francisco Police said White, “the victim,” had not been involved in the altercation between two groups.White had surgery the next day.“I’m just taking everything one day at a time and seeing where we are,” White told R.org at a celebrity basketball event in Tempe, Ariz. “You can’t really focus on where you’re going to be. You have to focus on where you are.”White, along with Williams, would give the 49ers a lot of flexibility up front defensively, as the two can line up outside and then play inside on passing downs. The 49ers also drafted edge rusher Romello Height after losing Bryce Huff to a sudden retirement.All the rehabbing 49ers can take the advice that Kittle was given by his surgeon.“I’m a little bit ahead of schedule, so I’m trying new things,” Kittle told the “Pardon My Take” podcast. “My trainers are like, ‘Yeah, just simmer just a little bit.’ Basically, what my surgeon told me is don’t be a dumbass, and I’m trying my best to just not be a dumbass.”Jul 13, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms