Less than a week before they open up their 2025 preseason campaign at home against the Denver Broncos, the San Francisco 49ers processed a slew of roster moves that saw some notable shakeups.
One of the most notable was releasing veteran kicker Greg Joseph, the specialist who was brought in earlier this offseason to directly compete with the incumbent, Jake Moody, after the latter suffered a near-historic meltdown over the second half of 2024.
The 2023 third-round draft pick out of Michigan arguably lost the on-field portion of the kicking battle in camp, missing one more kick than Joseph.
But, in light of Joseph's release, Shanahan and the Niners essentially declared Moody the winner before preseason action even began.
After Monday's practice, Shanahan explained the team's rationale. In light of San Francisco's latest rash of injuries, the head coach detailed why having two kickers was a luxury the 49ers couldn't afford at the moment, citing the need to have players who could "take reps:"
"I would’ve loved to keep [Joseph] longer allowed them to play that out longer. But, we had 13 guys out at practice today. We got five guys on the [physically unable-to-perform list]. It’s just too many people to have that luxury. It’s awesome to have two kickers to allow them to battle, but they’re not guys who really take reps. We need more people to take reps for us."
It makes sense. The Niners are banged up right now.
That said, if Moody thinks he's safe, he better think again.
Kyle Shanahan's not-so-subtle warning to Jake Moody
Moody, who suffered a high-ankle sprain on his kicking leg last season and missed three games as a result, endured a notably low 70.6 field-goal percentage when 2024 was over and done with.
During the offseason, the specialist tweaked his approach to focus more on accuracy and less on power, which may (or may not) pay off when kicks actually count.
Either way, Shanahan still doesn't want Moody to get too comfortable despite San Francisco releasing Joseph and "ending" the competition early.
"Kickers always know they’re competing with whoever’s out there," Shanahan continued. "So, I don’t see much of a difference [in the competition]."
Translating the coach's words, should Moody struggle again, the 49ers can either call Joseph back or grab someone else on the free-agent market to either compete with or replace Moody on the roster.
So, despite winning the kicker battle, Moody could nevertheless lose the war.