The San Francisco 49ers will have several competitions for playing time over the coming months as starters and roster spots are to be decided throughout the preseason.
One of those position battles will come at kicker, as the Niners announced the addition of veteran kicker Greg Joseph on Monday. He'll compete against Jake Moody for the starting spot on special teams.
The addition of Joseph means that a member of the roster had to be released. That decision was also announced on Monday, as defensive lineman Alex Barrett has been shown the door.
The addition of Joseph is a clear indicator to Moody that he will need to earn his job out of training camp if wants to continue serving as the kicker in San Francisco. This past season, Moody missed 10 field goal attempts and one extra point. That is more than twice the amount of missed field goals the former Michigan Wolverines standout had during his rookie campaign in 2023.
The Niners invested a third-round draft pick on Moody in 2023, hoping that he would be their kicker for the next decade. Having to bring in a veteran to push him in training camp after just two years on the job cannot be what John Lynch and company were hoping for when they took Moody with the No. 99 overall pick. The pressure is officially on Moody to perform or the franchise will be ready to move on, as shown by the move to add Joseph.
Barrett had been with San Francisco since late 2019 but was more of a mainstay on the practice squad than the active roster. From 2019 through 2024, Barrett appeared in 10 games for the Niners and recorded seven total tackles. This past season, the bulk of Barrett's short time on the field came on special teams, as 73% of his total snaps were with that unit.
While Niners fans will hope Barrett has the opportunity to latch on elsewhere within the league, their focus on the kicking competition coming out of camp will be immense, as having a reliable player at that position is of utmost importance.