The Kicker Situation is a Disaster for the 49ers

Drafting a kicker in the third round was considered a massive reach for the 49ers.

Kickers going that high is unheard of since a team can easily take one late and still find one that is adequate. However, the 49ers really wanted Jake Moody for how incredible of a kicker he was at the University of Michigan. I have to admit, I really didn't mind the selection of Moody.

The 49ers haven't had much success drafting in the third round, so at least with Moody he can address a position of need as well as give them an instant starter/impact player. Well, Moody has certainly been an impact player for the 49ers early on, but in a negative fashion. He's missed several kicks in two of his preseason games already that includes point after attempts (inexcusable), and missed the preseason finale with a strained quad.

Luckily, the 49ers have Zane Gonzalez who can fill in right?

Wrong.

Gonzalez, in typical fashion, injured his calf in the pregame warmups of the preseason finale. He will not be available by Week 1 against the Steelers as a result. Moody's status is also in the air now.

The kicker situation is a complete and utter disaster for the 49ers so far. There is no way to spin this into something positive. Moody so far doesn't look as advertised and is injured, while Gonzalez is still proving to be an unreliable player who constantly gets hurt in pregame warmups. Neither kicker is trustworthy, which puts the 49ers in a serious bind with the regular season less than two weeks away.

“I've never been in this situation before where we have two really good kickers in our camp and a few days before the final 53 both kickers aren't available at this time," said Kyle Shanahan.

"So, I think these next couple days are real important just for us to just see how the rehab's going and things like that and trying to guess where it's going to be two weeks from now when we kick off. But yeah, everything's up. We're discussing everything and just being ready for any possibility to maneuver this roster however. But, we really don't know what direction we're going to go until time takes care of that.”

Paging Robbie Gould, are you available?

Robbie Gould when the 49ers ask him if he will re-sign now that they’re desperate… pic.twitter.com/NMYriKCf4J
— Jose Sanchez III (@JSanchezFN) August 28, 2023

That is the first player who is going to come to mind for the 49ers since the kicker is bleak right now. He's the clearest option for them to target, but given how desperate the 49ers are right now, he holds all the leverage. Gould can easily seek a fairly lucrative offer from the 49ers and that will definitely cause the 49ers hesitation. They cannot commit a serious sum to Gould, but would have to think long and hard about how much they believe in Moody.

I don't see Gould and the 49ers reuniting. Not unless Moody's injury was worse, so I would expect the 49ers to go after the kickers that are being cut in the leadup to Tuesday's deadline where team's have to submit their final roster. Either way, the 49ers are paying for not bringing Gould back in free agency right now. They better hope that this is just a rough patch they're going through and not the standard for their season at kicker.