49ers kicker battle heats up: Jake Moody has a chip on his shoulder

The San Francisco 49ers continued their training camp on Friday, and the kicker battle between Jake Moody and Greg Joseph remains one of the more intriguing storylines.

Moody, entering his third NFL season, missed a field goal attempt from beyond 50 yards during Friday's session. Joseph, a veteran challenger, also missed from long range and failed on another attempt from over 40 yards. Both had been nearly perfect until Friday's session.

On the day, Moody went three-of-four, while Joseph finished two-of-four.

Even some of the 49ers' star players are paying attention to the kicker competition.

"I actually am paying attention to it—I can't lie," defensive end Nick Bosa admitted earlier this week.

Moody's motivation after a tough 2024

Moody is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2024 campaign in which he missed 10 field goals and one extra point, with many of his struggles coming after a high-ankle sprain. Despite returning to action, his timing and consistency were off.

Veteran punter Thomas Morstead believes Moody's struggles are now behind him.

"He probably came back a little too early from his ankle deal last year," Morstead said Friday.

He added, "There's a reason he was drafted so high. He's super talented, and he's a young guy with a chip on his shoulder, who's a little pissed off. And he's looked really good so far in camp."

Technical changes for accuracy

This offseason, Moody switched from a three-step approach to a two-step one, trading a bit of power for more consistency.

"What that did, at least in my mind, was keep everything kind of shorter and more consistent, as far as less variables of having a third jab step, is what I would call it," Moody explained. "So, just kind of taking that out gets me to the ball a little quicker."

New special teams coordinator Brant Boyer gave Moody a clean slate heading into the offseason and praised his potential on Friday.

"He's a super talented kid, and I think that he's just got to get his stinger back, so to speak," Boyer said. "And Greg is putting all the pressure on him that he can, and ... that's going to heat up. That battle is going to be fun to watch as we get into the preseason games, that's for sure."

A new mindset

Moody admits that last season was challenging, but says he has adopted a different approach in 2025.

"Last season was tough," Moody acknowledged. "I wouldn't really say there was thoughts about confidence or anything like that. It was just more so learning experiences, and just kind of moving on to the now, not harping on what had happened. But just kind of focusing on the present, talking with people about mindsets to kind of move forward, and having that kind of process over outcome mindset. And that's kind of helped me just focus on the task at hand."