49ers waive kicker Jake Moody after costly Week 1 performance against Seahawks
San Francisco cut the former third-round pick after a missed short field goal and a blocked attempt in Sunday’s 17-13 win in Seattle, a move that followed visible frustration on the sideline.
The San Francisco 49ers waived place-kicker Jake Moody on Tuesday after a pair of critical kicking miscues in Week 1, NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero reported.
Moody missed a 27-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter and later had a game-tying kick blocked during the 49ers’ 17-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The blocked attempt proved to be the decisive moment that led to the team’s decision, according to Pelissero.
Television broadcaster Pam Oliver reported observable frustration on the San Francisco sideline after Moody’s second miss. “That missed kick is really causing some frustration on the 49ers sideline,” she said, adding that she saw helmets thrown and players looking “ticked-off.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan had publicly voiced support for Moody immediately after the game, saying “there was no question” about Moody’s roster spot and that he was focused on evaluating the situation after returning from Seattle. Shanahan later said the kicking operation as a whole needed to improve, calling the blocked kick an operational issue and not solely the kicker’s fault.
Moody, a third-round pick of the 49ers in 2023, produced a strong rookie season, converting 21 of 25 field-goal attempts that year. But his performance declined last season, when he made 24 of 34 attempts and converted just 10 of 20 tries from 40 yards or longer. In the final three games of 2024, Moody converted 2 of 6 attempts and missed an extra point.
Over the offseason, Moody altered his kicking mechanics, moving from a three-step approach to a two-step start in an effort to regain consistency. The adjustment did not yield the desired results in Seattle, where the short miss and the blocked kick intensified scrutiny of the unit.
The 49ers did not immediately announce a replacement. The waiver comes as an early personnel move for a team that reached the NFC Championship Game last season and had counted on reliable kicking in close matchups.
Moody’s release marks a swift turn for a kicker who entered the NFL with high expectations after a strong rookie campaign. The organization will now evaluate available veteran kickers and in-house options as it prepares for Week 2, while the timing of the transaction underlines the premium teams place on special-teams reliability.
No further comment was immediately available from Moody or his representatives.