Who is the 49ers' kicker? Why San Francisco replaced 3rd-round pick Jake Moody with Eddy Pineiro

The San Francisco 49ers have a new kicker.

It was never supposed to work like this after they drafted Jake Moody in the third round in 2023.

But this week, the 49ers cut him. 

Moody was waived following the biggest kicking rut of his life. He had made just 12 of his last 23 field goal attempts. In Week 1, he missed a 27-yarder, then had a 36-yarder blocked.

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As a rookie in 2023, Moody had made 84% of his field goals.

That was down to 70% in 2024, already too low a number.

And his Week 1 struggles were the final blow in Moody getting the boot.

So now the 49ers have a new face doing the kicking duties.

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Who is the 49ers' kicker?

The 49ers' new kicker is Eddy Pineiro.

Pineiro is a 30-year old (birthday was Saturday) kicker from Miami who played his college football at the University of Florida.

He initially entered the NFL as an undrafted player with the Chicago Bears in 2019, when he made 23-of-28 field goal attempts.

Pineiro didn't kick in the league in 2020, then got just a short stint with the Jets in 2021.

For the past three seasons, Pineiro was the Carolina Panthers' kicker, putting up season percentages on FGs of 94.3, 86.2 and 84.6.

For his career, Pineiro has made 88.1% of his field goals and 92.1% of his extra points.

His FG% ranks fourth in NFL history. Not a bad guy to pick up in free agency.

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