The San Francisco 49ers have finally moved on from their struggling kicker.
Jake Moody continued to hold this team back week in and week out, and it came to a point where they just couldn’t defend him anymore.
That’s why even head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was his biggest supporter and always had his back in front of the media, had to admit they just had to cut him loose:
“It got to the point where I didn’t even feel like there was much of a choice… Once a guy loses his confidence for whatever reason it is. The stands have lost their confidence, the team ends up thinking it’s going to be a miss and not a make and you start to see him like that. You really don’t have a choice. You gotta make a move because you can’t just bench him and let him get out of it. There is no backup,” Shanahan said.
Kyle Shanahan on why they got rid of Jake Moody after week 1:
“It got to the point where I didn’t even feel like there was much of a choice… Once a guy loses his confidence for whatever reason it is. The stands have lost their confidence, the team ends up thinking it’s going to… pic.twitter.com/uwQbAHMUfd
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) September 13, 2025
Whenever a kicker is a constant talking point, it’s never for good reasons.
Those days when the kicker could always be trusted to make a routine kick are in the rearview mirror now.
It’s becoming increasingly common to see kickers miss easy field goals and extra-point attempts.
And while special teams have evolved and they’ve seemingly gotten better at blocking kicks, it’s also a sad reality that kickers have become far less reliable.
While they continue to add strength and range to their kicks, and it’s not uncommon to see them convert field goals for 50+ yards, they just can’t seem to do the easy ones.
Additionally, it’s quite challenging for them to break out of a bad streak.
Once they let their struggles get into their heads, that’s usually a wrap.
A missed field goal could be the difference between making the playoffs and not.
There’s just too much weight on their legs, and as such, teams simply cannot afford to keep their struggling kickers around once it’s become painfully obvious that they’ve already lost their confidence.
NEXT: Kyle Shanahan Reveals Injury Update On Brock Purdy