Why the 49ers Ended the Kicker Competition

“More just the roster numbers. I would've loved to keep him longer allowed them to play that out longer,” Shanahan said. “But, we had 13 guys out at practice today. 

“We got five guys on PUP. It's just too many people to have that luxury. It's awesome to have two kickers to allow them to battle, but they're not guys who really take reps. We need more people to take reps for us.”

The 49ers’ hands were forced in releasing Joseph. Shanahan is spot on about it being a luxury. They had to adapt to all of the injuries they were sustaining.

Adding a player to a more vital position so the 49ers can hold meaningful practices was out of necessity. It’s not like Shanahan wanted the kicker competition to end.

The 49ers simply had no choice. This means that Moody didn’t fully win the battle, but because he’s already an invested player, he is the one they defaulted to retain.

Even with Joseph gone, Shanahan doesn’t view it much differently for Moody in terms of pressure and competition. 

“Whether you have one kicker in the building or two, which you rarely have two. Kickers always know they're competing with whoever's out there,” said Shanahan. “So, I don't see much of a difference.”

It’s a bit comical to hear Shanahan say that. He stressed so much how great it will be to put Moody’s job on the line by competing with another kicker.

Suddenly, he’s playing it down as if it wasn’t needed because it’s always a competition. This just further cements that Moody didn’t do much of anything to win the job.

He was just the defaulted winner, kind of like sinking the eight-ball in a game of pool/billiards. Moody seems safe, for now.

However, it will be curious to see if, once the 49ers start to get healthy, they sign a kicker again to give Moody one last push in competition.