The San Francisco 49ers are sticking with kicker Eddy Piñeiro.
Asked on KNBR on Tuesday whether San Francisco has a kicker tryout scheduled this week, general manager John Lynch said no, and made clear the team still believes in Piñeiro despite a rough start to the season.
“We don’t have a kicker tryout. We’ve got a lot of belief in Eddy. He’s had a tough run early this year, but we extended Eddy for his body of work with us, but then throughout the history of his career, and he’s going through a rough patch right now. I think there are some things he’s identified that he’s got to fix in terms of his technique and the entire operation, and we’re going to focus on those. Another reason why a bye week is coming at an opportune time. We need to get
that right. That’s obviously very important. But we do have belief in Eddy, and we’re going to ride with him.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan struck a similar tone earlier this week when speaking with reporters.
“I haven’t discussed it with guys. I haven’t been told that we are," Shanahan said. "As far as I’ve heard we don’t have any plans on that right now.”
Piñeiro is 6-for-9 on field goals this season. All four of his attempts from inside 50 yards have been good, but he is 2-for-5 from 50-plus, with misses against the Broncos, Seahawks and Rams. He is also 21-for-25 on extra points (84%), including 2-for-3 in Sunday’s loss in Atlanta. He missed two extra points against the Cardinals and one against both the Commanders and the Falcons.
It would be a tough look for the 49ers to move on from Piñeiro already. The team signed him to a four-year, $17 million extension this offseason with $10 million guaranteed. They would need to be confident in their new kicker for that decision to be worth it, hence why Lynch and Shanahan both seem content with Piñeiro despite his misses in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan both back struggling kicker
