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Eddy Pineiro says he chose 49ers over one other team

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 1:33 PM ET

Eddy Piñeiro signed with the San Francisco 49ers this week, and he says he chose them over one other NFL team.

Piñeiro joined the 49ers on Tuesday after the team cut kicker Jake Moody, who missed two field goals in a Week 1 win over Seattle. The former Carolina Panthers kicker Piñeiro says he had plans to travel to Atlanta this week but chose to sign with the 49ers instead.

“It’s been a crazy week. I was supposed to leave to Atlanta yesterday until I got the call to come over here. Took the opportunity and didn’t look back,” Piñeiro said.

Piñeiro was asked about his choice and gave the reasons he picked San Francisco.

“I want to win games. I want to be a part of a good culture. In my eighth year in my career and I wanna win,” he said.

"I wanna win games. I want to be a part of a good culture. I'm in my 8th year of my career and I wanna win."

New 49ers kicker Eddy Piñeiro had a choice between going to Atlanta or coming to the Bay, but once he got the call from SF, he knew he wanted to be a Niner. pic.twitter.com/YZfO2Dnbdb
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 10, 2025

The Falcons ended up signing John Parker Romo to give competition to Younghoe Koo. Koo made just 73.5 percent of his field goal attempts last season and already missed one field goal this season. He missed a 44-yard attempt in Atlanta’s 23-20 Week 1 loss to the Bucs.

Probably the biggest reason Piñeiro preferred the 49ers is because he got the starting job, whereas in Atlanta, he might have only been competing with Koo.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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