The San Francisco 49ers have already made some key additions in free agency, but they did lose an important player with wide receiver Skyy Moore joining the Green Bay Packers.
Now the Niners have to figure out who will return kicks and punts for them next season.
One could pretty easily make the case that Moore was the best returner the 49ers have had since Ted Ginn Jr. back in the day. Moore nearly took a kickoff to the house against the Arizona Cardinals on the first play of the game and nearly took a punt to the house against the Cleveland Browns, too.
Moore was a definite part of why the 49ers were vastly improved on special teams last season, so whoever replaces him will have some pretty big shoes to fill.
Let's take a look at the options.
Jacob Cowing
If the Niners want to keep it in-house and don't want to spend money on a returner, wide receiver Jacob Cowing seems like a logical option. He returned some punts and kicks for San Francisco in his rookie season back in 2024, averaging 8.8 yards per punt return.
Cowing didn't appear at all in the 2025 season due to injury, but if he can stay healthy in 2025, it would not be a surprise to see him back there returning punts again.
Ricky Pearsall
Given Pearsall's extensive injury history, the Niners probably do not want him back there returning punts, but if he is the best option, they may not have much of a choice.
The 2024 Round 1 pick returned three punts back during his rookie season with a long of 20 yards, so he may be the best option San Francisco currently has.
But given the risk for injury, it's probably not worth it to have him back there.
Brian Robinson
When the 49ers traded for Brian Robinson prior to the start of the regular season, they figured they were just getting a solid backup running back behind Christian McCaffrey. Instead, they got a pretty good kick returner as well.
Robinson returned 13 kickoffs last season for an average of nearly 30 yards per return, which was actually higher than Moore's average.
Interestingly enough, Robinson is a free agent, so maybe Moore's departure will give San Francisco added incentive to bring him back.
Special teams took a big step forward for the Niners last year, so hopefully whoever they have returning punts and kicks can build upon what Moore and the unit as a whole did.