According to Jennifer Chan Lee of NBC Sports Bay Area, the San Francisco 49ers have significantly changed their special teams unit.
In what can only be described as a surprising move, the team has made a change at long snapper and has gotten significantly older at that position.
Taybor Pepper has been released and replaced by former Houston Texans long snapper Jon Weeks, who was signed to a one-year, $1.422 million deal per Aaron Wilson.
The move has been described as "weird" and "bizarre" by a long-time 49ers writer.
It's rare that a team exchanges a 30-year-old player with a 39-year-old player, but maybe that doesn't matter so much as the long snapper position.
It could have something to do with a change at the position coach, as Brian Schneider was fired and replaced with Brant Boyer. Maybe Boyer just prefers Weeks.
Or ... maybe it's more.
Last season in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, kicker Jake Moody uncharacteristically missed three field goals. Wideout Deebo Samuel took exception to this and approached Moody, sparking a sideline altercation that caused Pepper to defend his kicker.
Samuel grabbed Pepper by the throat in response before the situation was cooled down by teammates. Moody eventually made the game-winning kick to redeem himself.
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Now, both Samuel and Pepper are gone after Samuel was traded to the Washington Redskins this offseason.
Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.
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This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 8:10 AM.