Getty The 49ers signed former Panthers kicker Joey Slye on October 5.
The San Francisco 49ers signed kicker Joey Slye, NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday, October 5.
The addition comes as a way to offset the loss of starting place kicker Robbie Gould, who is expected to miss three to five weeks recovering from a groin injury he sustained warming up prior to the October 3 game against the Seattle Seahawks.
“The former #Panthers kicker, Slye was 4-of-5 on field goals in three weeks earlier this season with the #Texans, and now gets a chance to fill in for Robbie Gould, who’s out 3 to 5 weeks with groin injury,” Pelissero tweeted before adding another tweet confirming the signing.
SB Nation reporter Kyle Posey also reported the signing, and said that the 49ers also signed TE Jordan Matthews to the practice squad. The team also released LB Curtis Bolton and RBs Kerryon Johnson and Elijah Mitchell in a day busy of personnel moves. The team also plans to work out a number of players on Wednesday, October 6.
Slye last played for the Houston Texans, who cut the 25-year-old September 30. He made four of five field goals and seven out of eight extra-point attempts during the first three games of the season. He played his college ball at Virginia Tech but went undrafted in 2018 and didn’t play in the NFL until he caught on with the Panthers in 2019 following an injury to their starting kicker at the time.
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Niners Considered Other Veteran Kickers
GettyMichael Badgley last played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020.
The NFL Network reported that the other kickers whom the 49ers considered this week were Michael Badgley and Brett Maher.
Badgley, 26, played for the Tennessee Titans earlier this season. He was released by the team following their Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals after missing an extra point and a field goal in the 38-13 defeat. Prior to Tennessee, Badgley kicked for the Los Angeles Chargers for three seasons, where he converted 52 of 65 field goal attempts, an 80% conversion rate, and 95.3% of extra point attempts, the network reported.
Maher, 31, has been released twice this season. The Cardinals and New Orleans Saints already parted ways with the kicker in 2021. He hit on just under 75% of his field goal attempts while playing for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018 and 2019. He hit on 49 of 66 attempts, and his longest conversion was from 63 yards.
Robbie Gould Leaves Big Shoe to Fill
GettyRobbie Gould is expected to miss three to five weeks due to a groin injury.
After Gould injured himself warming up for the Seahawk game, the 49ers used P Mitch Wishnowsky as his replacement, who missed an extra-point and a 41-yard field goal attempt during the 28-21 loss.
Gould, 38, is expected to be out three to five weeks, but could return after the team’s bye in Week 6, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Before the 49ers signed Gould prior to the 2017 season, he was already the Chicago Bears longest tenured player and all-time leading scorer with 1,207 points and held the franchise’s record for most field goals made with 276. He also has the most field goals of over 50 yards for the Bears with 23.
He had an 82.6% field goal conversion rate for the 49ers in 2020.
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