Jake Moody is done, George Kittle is headed to IR, and the 49ers have a new kicker

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Kyle Shanahan wasn’t in the mood to answer questions about kicker Jake Moody’s future with the franchise in the wake of the 49ers’ dramatic 17-13 comeback win over the Seahawks on Sunday.

But by Monday, the 49ers’ head coach acknowledged that all options were on the table. They simply had to be after Moody missed a 27-yard chip shot in Seattle, a gaffe that forced Shanahan to alter his game plan.

“There are options; whether it’s to stay status quo, we could bring in guys for workouts, [for the] practice squad,” Shanahan said. “I know the personnel department is going to look into all that stuff and give us those options.”

On Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that the 49ers are waiving Moody, a third-round draft pick in 2023. Later in the day, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the 49ers would sign veteran kicker Eddy Piñeiro to replace Moody, who went 46-for-62 (74%) on field goal attempts during his time with the 49ers (the Seahawks blocked Moody’s second field goal attempt on Sunday after his 27-yard miss).

For comparison, Piñeiro has made 88.1% of his career kicks, good for No. 4 on the all-time list behind only Justin Tucker, Harrison Butker, and Chris Boswell. Piñeiro's career long is 56 yards. Piñeiro has missed 10 extra points in his career, good for a below-average make-rate of 92.1%.

The 49ers also placed George Kittle, who scored a touchdown on the team’s first offensive series of the season, on injured reserve after he suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of Sunday’s game. They also released veteran receiver Robbie Chosen from the practice squad.

Kittle’s injury will leave the 49ers without their top 2024 receiver and a leading perimeter run blocker for at least the next four weeks, meaning he'll miss matchups with the Saints, the Cardinals, the Jaguars, and the Rams.

Kittle's backup, Jake Tonges, plucked the ball away from Seattle cornerback Riq Woolen to secure Sunday’s game-winning touchdown catch. Tonges and veteran Luke Farrell, who signed with San Francisco this offseason to serve primarily as a blocking tight end, will be counted on to play significant roles in early weeks. The 49ers will also elevate tight end Brayden Willis from the practice squad to fill out the position.

But back to kicker. Shanahan can only hope Piñeiro provides the same kind of immediate spark the team received when Tonges stepped onto the field in place of Kittle.

The 49ers stood by Moody after he missed a potential game-winning 41-yard field goal attempt in Week 6 of his rookie season against the Browns. They remained steadfast in their support despite two postseason field goal misses and a blocked extra point against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. They chose Moody over veteran challenger Greg Joseph early in training camp this summer, despite the fact that the Michigan product made just 11 of 20 field goal attempts after returning from a high ankle sprain — suffered on kick coverage — in Week 10 of last season.

Moody worked with new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer to develop a modified kicking routine, taking only two strides instead of three into his kicks. The change was supposed to increase his accuracy while potentially sacrificing some distance on his kicks.

But after Sunday’s struggles, which also included a game-opening touchback (which now spots the ball at the 35-yard line), the 49ers decided they couldn’t let Moody’s inconsistencies potentially derail them anymore. A year after fielding a bottom-barrel special teams unit, a Week 1 encore certainly spooked Shanahan into action.

Should 49ers fans be worried about recurring special teams issues? Any kicker that was available entering Tuesday, including Piñeiro, didn't secure a job to open the season, but the Buffalo Bills proved there are still solid options available.

After starter Tyler Bass suffered an injury last week, 41-year-old Matt Prater signed on Thursday and made three field goal attempts, including a 32-yard game-winner as time expired on Sunday night in a 41-40 victory over the Ravens.

As for Moody, there's certainly a chance that he becomes a productive kicker elsewhere. It wouldn't be the first such turnaround in NFL history. In fact, the 49ers also used a third-round draft pick back in 1994 on a kicker named Doug Brien. They cut him in 1995, but Brien went on to have a very successful 12-year career.

A change of scenery can be all it takes. But that involves diverging from the original plan — and Moody's inconsistency cornered the 49ers into cutting ties.