In a press conference on Wednesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed the decision after waiving kicker Jake Moody on Tuesday due to his lackluster performance in the team’s Week 1 victory over the Seahawks. Shanahan also shared a story about his time in Washington that might have contributed to the release’s timing.
Kyle Shanahan of the 49ERS talks about Jake Moody
Shanahan responded that by the time the choice was made, “there wasn’t that much of a decision” when asked what finally led to it. That’s never easy, particularly when you have a gifted man. I’ve had some prior experience with that.
Kyle Shanahan says that during his Washington days he prematurely wrote off a kicker who went on to have a great career, which may have contributed to his hesitancy to let go of Jake Moody. pic.twitter.com/nZYXvwxnnN
— KNBR (@KNBR) September 10, 2025
“I remember when I was in Washington, I didn’t have that experience, and our kicker lost us a game, and remember how adamant I was when I went into the head coach’s office and said, ‘You need to make a change, like, what are we doing?’”
“He snapped at me and said, ‘You don’t know kickers, this guy’s really talented. We’ve got to give him some time. I’m not going to watch him go be a Pro Bowler for someone else.’ Then two weeks later, he missed a kick and lost us a game.
“So, I felt validated. I was like, ‘I told you.’ Which I was right for, like, a day, because then the next year, he went on to be a Pro Bowler and the highest-paid kicker in the league for the next three years for another team. So those are things that you kind of think about. It’s tough with a kicker.”
“I think Jake’s got a chance to have a hell of a future. He is that talented. But when it gets to that spot, where it is—we all know how last year ended, we know how everyone was looking at him. And obviously, when it gets to that point, you can see it affecting him from a mental game. And you don’t have much choice. You gotta move on.”
“I think he knows. He wouldn’t disagree with us. … There wasn’t anything I had to beat around the bush on. He knew that and, to a degree, I think this will give him a chance to move on and hopefully find a place where he can get his swag back in that way.”
Moody, who was selected 99th overall by the Niners in the 2023 draft, failed a 27-yard field goal try and had a 36-yard effort blocked on Sunday. This came after a dismal 2024 season in which he went 24-for-34 overall and missed nine of his last 20 tries.
