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NFL training camp means time for fans to see what they have in their teams for the upcoming season, but it is also time for some position battles to be sorted out. Those competitions will be decided over the course of the preseason leading up to the regular season at the start of September, but the San Francisco 49ers seem to have decided on one of them already.
On Monday, the 49ers cut kicker Greg Joseph, who was competing with Jake Moody for the starting job in camp, according to David Lombardi of The SF Standard.
On the surface, it would appear that Moody has won the kicker job as a result of the move. However, there could be an ulterior motive for the decision to let Joseph go. The 49ers needed some extra room on the 90-man camp roster for the joint practice coming up with the Denver Broncos due to the amount of injuries that they have, and they can't carry two kickers right now.
“With 13 players out of practice and 5 on PUP, Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers just can't afford to carry 2 kickers and 5 QBs on the 90 right now,” Lombardi wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “That's why Greg Joseph and Tanner Mordecai got cut. Shanahan made it clear ‘kickers always know they're competing', even if there's only one on the roster.”
It remains to be seen whether more competition will be coming in for Moody, but he is the only kicker on the roster for now.
The Michigan product was a standout as a rookie in 2023, making 21 of his 25 attempts and finishing the year 60-of-61 on extra points. However, he fell on hard times in 2024 after suffering an injury early in the season and finished the year just 24-for-34 on field goals in 14 games.
Moody struggled badly from long distance in his second season, finishing just 10-of-20 from 40 yards or longer. That performance brought his job into question, but he is clearly having a strong camp and Kyle Shanahan is confident in him heading into the preseason.
