It's understandable why the San Francisco 49ers may be traumatized by issues on special teams, particularly over the course of the 2023 and 2024 seasons when kicking issues from then-Niners placekicker Jake Moody were, well... inconsistent.
And that might be putting it lightly.
So, it's not exactly hyperbole to suggest kicker Eddy Piñeiro's arrival after Week 1 last season following Moody's dismissal was quite a franchise-saving moment. And Piñeiro ultimately delivered, connecting on a league-best 96.6 percent of his field-goal tries while missing four of his 38 extra-point attempts.
Now, he's ticketed for free agency after inking that one-year deal to solidify the Niners' special teams crop.
With free agency scheduled to begin on March 11, San Francisco has a crucial decision to make regarding its specialist.
And there's a date to monitor before that begins.
49ers are paying close attention to key Eddy Piñeiro deadline
It's possible the 49ers are already thinking beyond Piñeiro and opting to target someone who isn't coming off a league-best and career-best year to ink to a contract. Yet prior inconsistencies from Moody might convince the Niners that retaining Piñeiro is the smart way to go.
After all, he accounted for nearly 32 percent of San Francisco's points scored last season -- 118 out of 371.
The 49ers could prevent Piñeiro from hitting the open market by applying the franchise tag on him, which sounds silly for a kicker but isn't without precedent.
And in this case, the March 3 deadline makes plenty of sense to watch.
The Niners applied the tag to a former kicker, Robbie Gould, back in 2019 before inking him to a lucrative four-year deal. It seemed unreasonable at the time but ultimately allowed general manager John Lynch to extend the negotiation window for a new contract into the summer.
If San Francisco has Gould-like feelings toward Piñeiro, applying the tag would again make sense, making that March 3 date one to watch.
In light of their previous kicking woes and shortcomings, and the associated trauma it generated for the fanbase, the 49ers may want to apply the strategy to cross off a potential concern they'd rather not have heading deeper into the offseason.