The 49ers’ preseason wrapped Thursday with an 18-12 kicking-heavy win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and Eddy Piñeiro did exactly what San Francisco has come to expect from him. In a game packed mostly with backups and reserves, he drilled all six of his field goal attempts and finished the preseason with only one miss.
That kind of steady production is part of why Piñeiro has become such a comfort for the 49ers since taking over the job last season. It also sharpened the contrast with the Jake Moody experience, which dragged on far longer than it should have.
Moody entered the league as a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and opened his San Francisco career with a solid rookie year. He made 21 of 25 field goals and missed just one extra point.
But everything unraveled in 2024. His field goal percentage fell to 70.6 percent, and he connected on only 50.0 percent of his attempts from beyond 40 yards.
The 49ers still stuck with him deep into the season, even though teams usually do not give kickers much room to breathe. Moody remained on the roster through the year and was brought back to start the next one. That ended after his first game, when he missed two of three field goals and an extra point, prompting Kyle Shanahan to move on.
Piñeiro arrived and immediately stabilized the spot. Once the 49ers signed him off the couch, he was dependable the rest of the way and has carried that reliability into the new year. His run only makes the Moody decision look worse in hindsight, especially with other kicking options available in free agency.
Moody’s own path since leaving San Francisco has not gone well either. He has played for two other franchises, and the Washington Commanders released him after an abysmal training camp.
Now the 49ers are left with a lesson they can’t ignore. Piñeiro’s time in the Bay Area won’t last forever, and with him set to turn 31 in a matter of weeks, the team needs to be ready for what comes next.
Shanahan has already shown a tendency to hold onto players too long, and that leaves the club vulnerable when the decline hits. Kickers do not age like other positions, but their drop-offs can still arrive without warning.
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Kyle Shanahan has made it clear the team is not about to force the issue, even with a season opener in Australia against the Rams looming. Kittle still has not joined full team drills, and Shanahan has framed the situation alongside other injured 49ers such as Mykel Williams and Nick Bosa, a reminder that San Francisco is trying to protect more than one important piece as it sorts out who is truly ready for Week 1 and who still needs more time. [Read more 🡒]