As if the 2024 season hadn't been disastrous enough on the injury front for the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday brought a whole new variety of woes.
The 49ers took a surprising 24-23 loss to the division-rival Arizona Cardinals, and a major reason it happened was an ankle sprain suffered by starting kicker Jake Moody. Moody missed nearly three quarters of action, and the 49ers therefore passed on a field goal opportunity that potentially could have won them the game.
Kicker injuries are some of the toughest to recover from in the NFL, but they need to be rectified quickly. There was nothing the 49ers could do midgame on Sunday to find a viable kicking option (punter Mitch Wishnowsky attempted one kick, a shaky make on a 26-yarder), but now, they must quickly pivot to a short-term solution.
No sane team will trade their starting kicker at this stage of the season, so the 49ers will have to grab somebody not currently on an active roster. On Monday, Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department predicted they would land 11-year veteran Randy Bullock, who last played for the New York Giants in 2023.
"Moody suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Cardinals. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said the team will bring in a kicker while the second-year pro recovers, via 49ers WebZone," the authors said.
"Bullock is one of the best options available seeing as he has 11 years of experience and a career field goal percentage of 83.4 percent."
Bullock, 34, hasn't been the world's greatest kicker throughout his career, but he's been relatively steady. He went 5-for-6 with a long of 56 yards for the Giants a season ago, and 17-for-20 with the Tennessee Titans in 2022.
Given that Moody's injury stay should be relatively short, the 49ers need to make sure whoever they bring in needs minimal time to prepare and can make the kicks asked of him for a few weeks. Going for a longtime veteran like Bullock would seem to give them the best odds at landing someone reliable.
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