I’ve been a public Moody skeptic since he started missing kicks in preseason of his rookie campaign all the way through his big miss in Cleveland in 2023 and the misses in Tampa Bay last season that elicited a high level of exasperation from Deebo Samuel and others. Moody has made some big kicks, too, including those two long field goals in Super Bowl 58. (But he also, of course, had an extra point blocked in regulation in a game that went into overtime.)
This offseason, Shanahan reacted to several years of special teams disarray by hiring Boyer to change things up — and Boyer has changed the punter, long-snapper, holder (who is also the punter), and top coverage guy. Boyer almost certainly has the clout to change the kicker, too. And he has coached Joseph before.
So Moody will have to earn this job in every practice and preseason game this summer. He’ll have to out-kick Joseph with the whole team watching. He has to know that and feel that. And if Moody can do it, he should be a better and more accurate kicker for it this season. If he can’t, Joseph will be the kicker this season. Which, frankly, is how I’m guessing it’ll turn out.