The 49ers aren’t done making moves — including replacing their punter

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The 49ers released punter Mitch Wishnowsky on Wednesday and replaced him with 39-year-old Thomas Morstead. They also signed linebacker Chazz Surratt, a sign that that coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are continuing to entrust two new coordinators with turning around languishing defensive and special teams units.

New 49ers teams coordinator Brant Boyer, who inherited the NFL’s worst unit, had already presided over the removal of long snapper Taybor Pepper. The 49ers replaced him with 39-year-old Jon Weeks, who can better help struggling kicker Jake Moody, Boyer says. Now, Wishnowsky — Moody’s former holder — is gone. Morstead, a 16-year NFL veteran who spent his past two seasons punting for Boyer with the New York Jets, has taken over for the former fourth-round draft pick.

There’s a chance that Moody is also gone by the time the regular season rolls around. The 49ers recently signed veteran kicker Greg Joseph to compete with him over the next three months.

Meanwhile, the signing of Surratt should please both Boyer and new 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Surratt played under both coaches with the Jets last season and led New York with 10 special teams tackles. He also contributed a solid 137 snaps at linebacker — missing only two tackles over that span.

Saleh is clearly a fan of Surratt, who made the very unusual conversion from quarterback — he was once North Carolina’s starter — to linebacker in college.

“That’s my guy,” Saleh, grinning, said of Surratt while mic’d up during a 2023 episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” “That guy’s so good. He’s so good. He’s so good.”

Surratt is 28, so he’s not viewed as a prospect with massive developmental potential. But his vision of the game as a former quarterback has made him a coach’s favorite. And this, combined with his solid size and athleticism, gives the 49ers another viable option as they look to work youngsters Nick Martin and Dee Winters into the mix at linebacker.

Meanwhile, the situation at punter is straightforward. Wishnowsky missed the final eight games of 2024 with a back issue, forcing the 49ers to look for more reliable alternatives this offseason. Even before Wishnowsky landed on injured reserve, he was having the worst season of his career. Wishnowsky averaged only 36.2 net yards per punt in 2024, one of the lowest marks in the NFL. Morstead, by comparison, has registered more than 40 net yards per punt in 14 consecutive seasons.

The 49ers opened OTAs, or organized team activities, this week. Their first open practice is Thursday, so it was important for them to have position battles set up before then. The 49ers released linebacker DaShaun White to make roster room for Surratt.

Releasing Wishnowsky will open up only $266,000 in 2025 salary-cap space for the 49ers, who could not defer any of his $2 million dead-money hit to 2026 because they’ve already used up both of their 2025 post-June 1 designations — for the releases of defensive linemen Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins.

But that isn’t a problem for the 49ers, who recently finalized a contract for star linebacker Fred Warner that’s opened up another $13 million 2025 cap space. That means the 49ers now have about $46 million in effective cap space this season, enough to absorb virtually any possible short-term move.

So after an offseason of roster and financial maneuvering, the team is set for its only flurry of 11-on-11 practice before opening training camp in July.