Ultimately, Greg Joseph was caught up in a numbers game that he had no control over
Over the weekend, San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator Brant Boyer was asked how the kicker competition was going. Boyer said Jake Moody and Greg Joseph were “really close” and “there’s not a ton of separation” between the two:
“Well, I think they’re really close. I think that they’re both doing a great job. There’s not a ton of separation there. Both of them rebounded from some days that they could have kicked better, and I thought they kicked pretty solid today. It’s just a matter of who’s going to execute when the game comes down to it, and they’re competing. They’re doing everything we’re asking them to do, and we’re looking forward to see how it’s going to shake out.”
Joseph got caught up in a numbers game and was released Monday morning. Head coach Kyle Shanahan pointed to the lack of depth on the roster for Joseph’s release:
“More of just roster numbers. I would’ve loved to keep him longer, allowed them to play that out longer, but, we just had 13 guys out of practice today, we had five guys on PUP. It’s just too many people to have that luxury.
It’s awesome to have two kickers and allow them to battle. But they are not guys who take reps. We need more people to take reps for us.”
The 49ers suffered quite a few injuries over the past few days, so the need to bring in bodies was justified, making Joseph expendable. Still, in Shanahan’s mind, the kicking competition isn’t necessarily over:
“I mean, he’s not here, but whether you have one kicker in the building or two, and you rarely have two, kickers always know they’re competing with whoever is out there. So, I don’t see it much different.”
Boyer spoke about how meaningful the relationship between a kicker and the holder is when it comes to mental confidence. Moody has been around longer, so he’s had a chance to work with whichever holder has been in the building during his time — generally it’s the backup quarterback, so maybe not — which would also give Moody the advantage.
Boyer also said, “It’s just a matter of who’s going to execute when the game comes down to it.” So, if Moody struggles during the preseason, we might see Joseph added back to the roster or the 49ers continue to shuffle their options at kicker.
Ideally, none of this matters, and the 49ers don’t settle for long field goals when they are in their opponents’ territory.