SANTA CLARA – Brock Purdy, the 49ers’ newly minted quarter-billionaire, bought a riverfront home this offseason 15 minutes from George Kittle’s pad on Nashville’s outskirts. Routes were run, passes thrown, receptions made, and weights were lifted in Kittle’s workout barn.

All their sweat equity is about to pay off, after years of already impressive dividends. No combination is more paramount for Sunday’s season opener in Seattle, which has been their personal playground in past visits.

“We’ve gotten a lot of looks and reps together over the years, and obviously over the offseason we trained together, which is great,” Purdy said Thursday, “but the minute we step out on the field, it’s just us playing ball — two guys who absolutely love the game.”

That should not be overshadowed by Jauan Jennings’ contract drama, Ricky Pearsall’s silky-smooth emergence or Christian McCaffrey’s return to full health.

Purdy is 3-0 in Seattle, and of his 12 completions there to Kittle, four resulted in touchdowns, including a pair last season as well as Purdy’s two scoring strikes in his 2022 road debut.

“We’ve had success in Seattle together, yes. But every single game is different,” Purdy said. “More than anything, I trust (No.) 85 and know he’ll be that consistent tight end we need, and I’ll consistently throw him the ball.”

San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (85) and San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) converse from the sideline after Purdy’s interception by Los Angeles Rams’ Darious Williams (24) in the fourth quarter of an NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group) 

Overall, no one has caught more of Purdy’s touchdown passes than Kittle. Their 20 scores are two shy of the Steve Young-to-Brent Jones battery in 49ers quarterback-tight end lore.

Mind you, Purdy and Kittle are far behind the NFL’s best-ever such pairings: Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski hooked up for 90 touchdowns, one more than Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates.

Kittle is much more than a safety blanket for a still-young quarterback, one who just cashed in with a $265 million extension before his upcoming fourth NFL season.

“I was really excited to throw routes with Brock the entire offseason,” Kittle said. “It was really fun for me, just being on the same page and that transitioned really well into training camp. Between us two, I don’t think we had a bad day.”

Call it chemistry, call it trust, call it a connection that was on full display on Purdy’s first snap of training camp, when he found Kittle open down the right sideline for a 30-yard catch (and would-be touchdown).

“Purdy is a damn good quarterback,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said in camp. “The young man layers the ball as good as anybody in football. He’s very good with processing, gets the ball in and out of his hands, and Kittle makes it easy because he’s got unbelievable route-running abilities to create separation.”

Kittle’s 538 career receptions are third-most in 49ers history, behind only Jerry Rice (1,281) and Terrell Owens (592).

San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws to San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle (85) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 

Of Kittle’s 538 career catches, 236 have come on passes from Jimmy Garoppolo (see: Garoppolo/Kittle ’20 campaign T-shirts). Purdy accounts for 156 of Kittle’s receptions, followed by Nick Mullens, 62; C.J. Beathard, 54; Brian Hoyer, 18; Brandon Allen, six; Josh Dobbs, three; Sam Darnold, two; and, Trey Lance, one.

“It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is,” Saleh added. “He’s going to work relentlessly with that quarterback and with himself to put himself in position to be a playmaker and credit to Purdy. He gets him the ball when he needs to get it to him.”

While Purdy has connected with Kittle for 20 touchdowns, the next-most are 10 touchdowns to both Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel, then nine to Brandon Aiyuk, seven to Jauan Jennings, four to Kyle Juszczyk, two to Ricky Pearsall and one apiece to Ronnie Bell and Eric Saubert.

Sunday at Lumen Field, Kittle and McCaffrey again figure to serve as top targets, although Pearsall is coming off a stellar training camp, and Jennings is suiting up after missing all of August with calf and contract issues. Aiyuk is out at least the first four games recovering from last October’s knee injury.

“Hopefully we just start fast and get the ball rolling. It’ll be really fun for us,” Kittle said.

Kittle and Purdy have more fun up their sleeves when it comes to the Iowa-Iowa State college rivalry, with their alma maters facing off Saturday. Purdy had to wear the Iowa mascot’s head in 2023 after losing a bet with Kittle, who in turn had to don Purdy’s Iowa State helmet last year.

“We do have something good. He’s trying to weasel his way out of it because he says he does his press conferences at the podium and he thinks he needs to be the face of the franchise, all professional,” Kittle said. “But a bet is a bet, and he should be wearing an Iowa helmet next Thursday.”

PRACTICE REPORT

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Every player on the 53-man roster participated in practice, including the three who were out Wednesday — left tackle Trent Williams (rest), wide receiver Jordan Watkins (ankle) and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee).

Jennings (calf), guard Dominick Puni (knee) and running back Jordan James (finger) were limited.

NO TWO-WAY KITTLE

While rookie Travis Hunter is poised to play both wide receiver and cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the football-loving Kittle has no aspirations to pull double duty.

“The only defensive position I could play is outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense,” he said. “I was first-team all-state safety (in high school), but that was 80 pounds ago, so I’m not going to do that. No, I want nothing to do with that. I play enough offense as it is. Best of luck to (Hunter) and to see what he can do will be fun to watch.”

SALEH ON SAM

Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said “you’d expect” the Seahawks to come out with a run-oriented attack but he’s also aware of Sam Darnold’s potential in the pass game. When Saleh got his first head-coaching gig with the Jets four years ago, Darnold exited after three subpar seasons as their No. 3 overall pick.

“Studying his tape, he’s very confident. He is a playmaker. Last year he proved he could be a good decision maker also,” Saleh said. “He took care of the ball and got it to his playmakers. The scheme fits him. … He’s improved greatly. Even though I didn’t coach him with the Jets, the background of when I arrived to what you see is very different.”