49ers
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San Francisco 49ers helmet.
T
he 2026 NFL offseason is in full swing. With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, all 32 teams are hard at work on building a roster capable of contending for the Super Bowl next season. Free agency and the NFL Draft are looming, meaning that teams will need to figure out where they need to improve in order to bring in the right players that fit the mold of what they need.
For the San Francisco 49ers, a 12-5 2025 season ended in disappointment with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional round. Dealing with a rash of injuries to several key stars, the 49ers face several questions this offseason and will need to address those if they want to return to Super Bowl contention. But the 49ers are making sure to solidify a very important unit that finally saw success last season after years of struggle– the special teams unit. On Tuesday, March 3, the 49ers officially announced that they came to terms on a new one-year deal with long snapper Jon Weeks. And with Weeks locked in for 2026, the 49ers are shifting focus on securing the services of their other two members of the special teams– kicker Eddy Pineiro and punter Thomas Morstead.
Will the 49ers Extend Pineiro?
Kicker was a major issue for the 49ers before Pineiro came along, with former kicker Jake Moody struggling mightily in his two plus seasons with the team. But after the 49ers signed Pineiro, consistency at the position returned, with Pineiro missing only one field goals all season long. Re-signing him may come with a heftier price tag, but 49ers general manager John Lynch sounds confident that the franchise can keep their shiny new kicker around for the long haul.
“Eddy was obviously fantastic,” Lynch said. “I don’t think the guy could have come in and done any better. He was fantastic for us. Picked our team up in a big way, so obviously there’s great interest to try to figure that out.”
Pineiro missed four extra points, but the misses were due to various factors including bad weather and poor protection leading to blocked kicks. Going 28 of 29 on field goals, Pineiro made six field goals from over 50 yards, with his only miss coming on a 64-yard attempt.
Morstead and His Impact
Punter is a very overlooked position, with the best punters in the league being very beneficial in keeping opposing offenses from having good field position. And while Morstead averaged only 43.6 yards per punt– a net average of 36.7 yards– he still played a big role in the special teams’ success. And the 49ers are known for wanting to keep the special teams unit together, with chemistry also a big part of a good special teams unit.