After years of neglect, the San Francisco 49ers finally opted to take their special teams unit seriously entering 2025, headlined by the hiring of longtime New York Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer.
Boyer quickly got to work, ensuring the Niners' opening free agency moves focused on his unit. And not long thereafter, the well-respected coordinator cleared out plenty of names from San Francisco's special teams to make room for his own selections.
One of those moves was to part ways with the 49ers' incumbent punter, Mitch Wishnowsky, paving the way for 39-year-old veteran Thomas Morstead.
Morstead, a one-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro, served under Boyer with Gang Green the previous two seasons, and that relationship unquestionably led to the Niners inking the former to a one-year, $1.197 million deal.
Sure, there's no guaranteed cash on the contract, so San Francisco can punt (pun intended) on Morstead at any point if he flames out in year 17 of his pro career.
But, given the context, that's not likely to happen.
Thomas Morstead is effectively guaranteed a roster spot with 49ers
The 49ers moved on from Wishnowsky for likely two reasons: a recent injury spat with back problems and also inconsistency over the last year-plus.
Morstead, while no longer at the All-Pro caliber he was early in his career, nevertheless led the NFL in punt attempts and yards back in 2023 when New York's offense was wholly atrocious, and his 47.2 yards-per-punt average from 2024 actually bested his career average of 46.8.
Despite the age, Morstead has that consistency factor on his side.
Plus, getting the nod from Boyer, who seemingly has free reign over what he wants to do on special teams, is about the only endorsement the specialist needs. With no other competition on the 90-man offseason roster, it'd have to take a complete meltdown or injury during training camp for the Niners to shuffle the punting deck.
Not likely.