49ers To Re-Sign K Eddy Pineiro

Pineiro actually started off as a soccer player growing up in Miami and signed a scholarship offer to play at FAU before running into some academic issues. He opted to play soccer at ASA College, a small juco in the area, and, at the behest of his father, eventually made his way out to Alabama for a placekicking combine with the football program. After impressing Nick Saban and earning a scholarship offer, Pineiro committed to the Crimson Tide before later decommitting and opting to stay in state with the Gators.

After going undrafted in 2018, Pineiro signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent but spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. Over the following offseason, Chicago traded for the second-year kicker, expecting him to compete to replace Cody Parkey after the Bears’ infamous “Double Doink” playoff exit. Pineiro was the winner of the kicking competition and made his NFL debut kicking the whole season with Chicago, going 23-of-28 on field goals and 27-of-29 on extra point attempts.

A groin injury put Pineiro on IR again for the entire 2020 season, and he spent 2021 bouncing around. He spent bits of the season with the Colts, Commanders (then the Football Team), and Jets but only appeared in games with New York, making 8-of-8 field goal attempts and 9-0f-10 extra points. In 2022, he landed with the Panthers after an injury to Zane Gonzalez. This began a three-year stint in Carolina, seeing him play in all but two games for the Panthers over that time. Pineiro really seemed to establish himself as a franchise kicker, for his new team. At some point in his third year in Carolina, Pineiro edged into the all-time lead for career field goal percentage in NFL history. Though the record quickly slipped from his grasp, he’s been back and forth with a few active kickers ever since then.

After the Panthers neglected to re-sign Pineiro to a fourth one-year deal with the team, he signed a last-second contract with the 49ers a week into the 2025 NFL season following the team’s dismissal of former third-round pick Jake Moody. Pineiro had his choice of a couple options after trying out for the Bills and getting interest from the Falcons, but it was San Francisco that won out. Pineiro went on to win the hearts of the 49er faithful, along with the nickname “Eddy Dinero,” and after the season came to an end, securing his future apparently became a priority for the team.

All three members of the 49ers kicking battery were on expiring contracts in 2025. San Francisco re-signed veteran long snapper Jon Weeks to an extension at the start of February and have now secured Pineiro for the foreseeable future. In order to bring the whole crew back in 2026, all that remains is for the 49ers to ink veteran punter Thomas Morstead to a new deal for next season, as well.

Although Pineiro remains in the all-time most accurate kicker race (he currently sits at second, behind Cameron Dicker, and remains in active competition with Harrison Butker, Brandon Aubrey, and Chris Boswell, who round out the top five active kickers), his new contract only puts him as the 14th-highest paid kicker in the NFL in regard to annual average value ($4.25MM per year). His reported guarantee-total of $10MM is eighth-highest for a kicker contract in the NFL.