San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody faced a challenging outing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, missing three field goal attempts before redeeming himself with a game-winning kick. It was his first game back after recovering from a high-ankle sprain that had sidelined him for weeks.
The rocky performance reignited fan speculation about Moody's roster status and whether the 49ers might consider replacing the second-year kicker. However, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan made one thing clear: the team remains fully committed to their 2023 third-round draft pick.
"Jake's been a good kicker for us, and I think he's only going to get better," Lynch said on Bay Area radio station KNBR Friday morning. "We still have a ton of belief [in him]. His teammates have a lot of belief in him. And I think Jake's going to make a lot of game-winning kicks for us.
"It was his first game back, and we have high expectations [for] him. The better thing is Jake has higher expectations for himself. So, he's gone to work, and fixing, technique-wise, whatever was off, and he'll get it right. We've got a lot of confidence in that kid."
Shanahan echoed Lynch's sentiment, emphasizing that Moody's ability to bounce back and deliver under pressure will serve him well as he develops.
"For him to kick that, and overcome all that adversity, and go through all that in one game, it should give him some confidence," Shanahan said on Thursday during his own radio interview. "I mean, he kicked the ball great all practice week. He's kicking it great right now. But you've got to adjust to wind, you've got to adjust to the anxiety when you do mess up, and you've got to come through. And that's what he ended up doing for us."
Despite outside criticism, the 49ers are steadfast in their support of Moody.
"We didn't blink," Lynch said. "No, we've got a lot of faith in this kid. He had a rough day, and we all have rough days. If the first day you have a rough day, people give up on you, that's not how we operate. We do have tough decisions to make from time to time, but there's a lot of context to put into these things, and Jake has earned a lot of respect from this organization."
Lynch also pointed to Moody's long-term potential, expressing confidence in the kicker's ability to become one of the league's best.
"He brings a lot of value, and we believe he's going to find himself being a top-level kicker in this league," Lynch added. "We really do. He's got that kind of talent. There's a reason he was drafted as high as he was. We made that decision. There were teams that weren't far behind us. You find those things out after you draft him. And so there was going to be competition. He's a very talented kid and got the right type of mindset. Jake's gonna be great."
You can listen to Lynch's entire interview below.