Moody wins the competition

Jake Moody has won the San Francisco 49ers' kicking competition, for now.

The 49ers have released veteran Greg Joseph, leaving Moody as the only kicker on the team's roster as it tries to rebound from a difficult second season in the NFL.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said the decision was made in large part because the Niners had 18 players out of practice dealing with various injuries and the team couldn't afford to keep two kickers.

“It’s more about the roster numbers,” he said. “I would have loved to keep him longer, allow him to develop more… There are too many people to have that luxury. It’s great to have two kickers, to allow them to compete. But they’re not guys who take reps. We need more people to take reps.”

Moody and Joseph had been competing in camp, each making 24 field goal attempts. Joseph had made 22 and Moody 21 before the decision was made yesterday, but the Niners liked what they saw from Moody and decided to take the 2023 third-round pick.

“It shows he’s kicking the ball very well right now. Which is true. Greg was doing it too,” Shanahan said. “Moody has a lot of talent. He’s been kicking the ball very well, and we hope that continues.”

While the Niners only have one kicker on the roster right now, Shanahan said that situation could change if Moody struggles at any point, either during games or practices.

“Kickers always know they're competing with whoever's out there,” Shanahan said. “I don't see it as much different.”

Moody is trying to rebound from a difficult second season when he struggled significantly in the second half of the 2024 campaign after returning from a left ankle injury.

Moody made some changes to his approach this offseason, going from a three-step approach to just two. He made the change after consulting with his kicking coach and some veteran kickers after seeing on film that his third step had been inconsistent and could have contributed to the inaccuracy.

Moody had an uneven rookie campaign, making 21 of 25 field goals in the regular season and missing only one extra point. But he missed a potentially game-winning field goal attempt in a loss at Cleveland and had three failed attempts in the playoffs.

Moody got off to a strong start last season, making all six field goals he attempted in the season opener and going 13 of 14 before injuring his ankle while attempting to make a tackle on a punt return in Week 5.

He missed three games and then went 5 of 14 on attempts of at least 40 yards in the final nine games, leading to the decision to bring in competition this year.

Other movements

The Niners made several other roster moves yesterday as they wanted to ensure they had enough healthy players to get through the week of practice, including the release of quarterback Tanner Mordecai.

San Francisco signed Carter Bradley — the son of defensive back Gus Bradley — last week and opted to keep him as the third quarterback instead of Mordecai.

San Francisco also signed defensive linemen Bradlee Anae and Bruce Hector; defensive backs Jaylen Mahoney and Fabian Moreau; and offensive lineman Isaiah Prince to one-year contracts. The team also released cornerback Tre Avery, receiver Isaiah Neyor, and tight end Mason Pline.