Why the 49ers Released Punter Mitch Wishnowsky

We'll always remember your knuckle punt and that one time you ran for a first down.

Dec 10, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky (18) before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The 49ers are gutting their special teams.

The latest player to get released is punter Mitch Wishnowsky. He has been replaced by 39-year-old punter Thomas Morstead. Here's why.

One, Wishnowsky has a bad back that landed him on the Injured Reserve List for the final eight games of last season. Back injuries are tricky and Wishnowsky is 33. Perhaps this injury will shorten his career. We'll see if he signs somewhere else.

But even if Wishnowsky were 100 percent healthy, the 49ers might not want him anymore. And that's because his leg simply isn't strong.

When the 49ers drafted Wishnowsky in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft, they didn't go for it on fourth downs particularly often. So they wanted a punter who could land the ball inside the opponent's 20-yard line at a high rate. And Wishnowsky could do that until last season when he got injured.

The 49ers rarely asked Wishnowsky to boot the ball as far as he could. Instead, they asked him to place the ball.

Now, the 49ers and the rest of the league are much more aggressive when it comes to going for it on fourth down. You won't see the 49ers punt from midfield this year nearly as much as they did in the past. Which means that when they do punt, they'll be punting from deep inside their own territory, which means they need a punter with a stronger leg.

Good luck, Mitch. We'll always remember your knuckle punt and that one time you ran for a first down.