The San Francisco 49ers got some rough news on their kicker Eddy Piñeiro on Monday as head coach Kyle Shanahan said he will be week-to-week after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
It is somewhat ridiculous that in this year that has already seen the Niners be absolutely ravaged by injuries that their kicker would get hurt, too. But at this point, it is to be completely expected with this team.
They are cursed by injuries, and it is just not going to change anytime soon, so there is no point in moping about it. They just need to adopt that age-old next-man-up mentality.
If Piñeiro does have to miss time, it is going to be difficult to replace what he has done for the Niners since they brought him aboard in Week 2 after moving on from Jake Moody.
Since joining San Francisco, Eddy Dinero has not missed a field-goal attempt. He is 22-of-22 and has looked great from beyond 50 yards. However, he has missed four extra-points. This has been a common theme in his career where he has been phenomenal on field goals, but for whatever reason, has trouble with extra points that are typically thought of as chip shots but continually give place-kickers issues.
Yet, the 49ers may be in a position where they have to bring someone new into the fold.
If that is the case, they need to stay far away from former Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.
After serving a 10-game suspension for numerous accusations of sexual misconduct, Tucker is now eligible to be signed by teams. He is coming off a career-worst year in 2024 as he made just 22 of 30 field-goal attempts.
He has been one of the best kickers of all time when looking at his overall career, but given his sordid past and the baggage that would come with signing him (or even bringing him in for a tryout), is just not worth it and could potentially upset the fanbase.
There are other kickers out there with less baggage who could come in and do their job just fine. Plus, if the Niners did sign Tucker as a replacement and he kicked well, then maybe they'd have a kicker controversy on their hands, which is the last thing needed.
On moral grounds and just from a pure football standpoint, this move just does not make sense, and the 49ers would be wise to stay far away from Tucker as they look to find a stand-in for Piñeiro.