Michael David Smith ,
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The 49ers invested a third-round draft pick in kicker Jake Moody in 2023, then stuck by him for two shaky seasons. But when Moody continued to struggle in the first game of his third NFL season, the 49ers cut him. And coach Kyle Shanahan says they didn’t have much choice.
Shanahan said today that Moody may still become a good NFL kicker, but his struggles with the 49ers were affecting him mentally, and a kicker who is struggling mentally can’t stay on the job.
“Jake’s got a chance to have a hell of a future, he’s that talented, but when it gets to that spot — where it is, we know how last year ended, we know how everyone was looking at him, and obviously when it gets to that point you can see it affecting him from a mental game. Then you don’t have much choice. You’ve got to move on,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan said the conversation with Moody telling him he had been released was not difficult because Moody understands that he’s in a results business and he wasn’t getting results.
“I don’t think it’s that hard to have because I think it is what it is. I think he knows. He wouldn’t disagree with us. He’d have to say why, but it looked like he lost his confidence and he wasn’t kicking the ball well enough and was way too inconsistent,” Shanahan said. “It wasn’t anything I had to beat around the bush on. He knew that.”
Shanahan said Eddy Piñeiro will be the 49ers’ new kicker, and everyone in the building agreed that he’s the best kicker available. He couldn’t be much worse than Moody has been.
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