Eddy Piñeiro has found a new NFL home.
The Carolina Panthers’ former kicker has signed with the San Francisco 49ers, a league source confirmed with The Charlotte Observer. ESPN had the news first. Piñeiro’s new deal gets him back into the league after missing Week 1 of the 2025 season.
Piñeiro is replacing Jake Moody, who was released on Tuesday after two-plus seasons with the 49ers. Moody went 1-for-3 on field goals in Sunday’s season-opening win against the Seattle Seahawks. One miss was a 27-yarder in the second quarter; the other was a 36-yarder that was blocked in the third.
Piñeiro, 29, joined the Panthers in the summer of 2022. He eventually replaced Zane Gonzales as the team’s primary kicker.
During an up-and-down stint, Piñeiro was known for his accuracy within 50 yards. He made 80 of his 90 field-goal attempts (88.9%) as a Panther. He was 80 of 87 on extra-point attempts (92%) during his time in Carolina.
The Panthers elected to let Piñeiro test free agency this offseason and brought in journeyman kicker Matthew Wright and undrafted rookie Ryan Fitzgerald to compete for the job. Fitzgerald ultimately won out and finished his debut Sunday perfect on field goals — 1-for-1 from 48 yards out — and had a good day on kickoffs, too.
Now all three of the specialists from 2024 have jobs in the NFL again. Punter Johnny Hekker left Carolina this offseason and signed with the Tennessee Titans, and long snapper JJ Jansen remains the Panthers’ longest tenured player after re-signing with the team on a one-year deal. Jansen has played a franchise-high 261 games — and counting — with Carolina.