Week 1 of the 2025 season has barely passed, and Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers have already decided to move on with the third-year kicker, Jake Moody. The reasoning is pretty simple: the 25-year-old has been struggling and even missed a couple of field goal attempts in the Niners’ season opener against the Seahawks on Sunday.

On Tuesday, September 9, the team waived Moody, as confirmed by Jonathan Jones of CBS via his social media handle. Though Moody’s replacement is yet to be announced, it’s safe to say that Shanahan’s decision to cut ties with his third-year kicker was already on the cards. The reason? Moody, whom the 49ers picked in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft at No. 99, managed to hit just one field goal on three attempts against Seattle.

He nailed a 32-yarder in the fourth quarter to tie things up, helping Shanahan’s team to secure a 1-0 lead (17-13), sure. But before that, the 25-year-old first clanked a 27-yarder off the left upright and then watched a 36-yarder get blocked. The head coach wasn’t having it. Following the game, Shanahan was asked whether Moody would remain the 49ers’ kicker or not.

The HC bluntly responded, “No. No. No question.” However, when asked why he had no question about the kicker, Shanahan blamed the question’s premise and later confirmed that his opinion could change. “It’s just the way you guys ask it,” he said. “Right now, I have no question. I’m trying to finish today and then I’ll get on the plane, evaluate stuff, and go back at it.”

The writing is on the wall: miss the easy ones, and you stick out for the wrong reasons. Stick out for the wrong reasons, and the next kicker gets a shot to take your spot. However, in the case of Moody, his waiver wasn’t solely about his struggles against the Seahawks; it was the inconsistencies he had endured throughout the past season.

Kyle Shanahan was disappointed with Jake Moody missing two field goals

The Niners trusted Jake Moody when they drafted him a couple of years back. And let’s say the 25-year-old was up to the mark in his rookie season. Moody converted 84% of his field goals (went 21 of 25) in his first year. But as the second season rolled in, that’s where the struggles started. The kicker struggled in 2024, converting just 70.6% of the field goal attempts (went 24 of 34), especially after suffering an ankle injury.

Moody hurt his ankle in the Week 9 showdown, came back, and missed 9 field goal attempts (total missed: 10). So, when he put up a poor outing in the Niners’ season opener on Sunday, you could feel frustration brewing in the locker room. Kyle Shanahan admitted that he was “disappointed” in the couple of missed field goals. However, he didn’t put all the blame on Moody. “Well, obviously, I was disappointed that we missed two field goals,” Shanahan said.

“I mean, missed one, which was a big miss, especially, I think we were inside the 10. I want to say it was a 27-yarder. And then, the next one, (Julian) Love made a hell of a move. I think it was Love. Splitting that D gap, looked like he jumped over the guys. I saw it on the scoreboard. But we’ve got to clean up that protection. That’s everyone there. That one wasn’t Jake. That’s just the whole operation, but, yeah, we got to do better,” Shanahan further added.

Fast forward to now, the third-year kicker is officially out of the team and will now hit the waivers. If he clears, he’ll become a free agent. As for his replacement? We’re yet to get the confirmation from the team.

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