Jake Moody Reportedly Signs Bears Contract After 49ers Exit, Will Compete with Santos

After being waived by the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, kicker Jake Moody is joining the Chicago Bears.

Per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Moody has agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bears to join their practice squad. He is expected to compete with Cairo Santos to be the primary kicker.

Following a disappointing 2024 season for Moody, the 49ers brought in Greg Joseph as competition during training camp. They quickly gave the job to Moody by releasing Joseph on Aug. 4.

Moody had some shaky moments during the preseason, but he went 6-of-7 on field-goal attempts in the three games. His best highlight was a game-winning 59-yarder as time expired against the Las Vegas Raiders on Aug. 16.

Things went awry for Moody in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. He went 1-of-3 on field goals with one miss from 27 yards and a 36-yard attempt that was blocked.

Fox Sports' sideline reporter Pam Oliver said on the telecast after the blocked kick that two 49ers players were seen throwing their helmets and others had "ticked-off" looks on their faces.

San Francisco signed veteran kicker Eddy Piñeiro to take Moody's spot on the roster.

The Bears' addition of Moody comes after Santos missed a 50-yard field goal in Monday's 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Santos' 84 percent success rate last season was his worst single-season mark since joining Chicago in 2020. He made 91.1 percent of his attempts from 2020 to '23.

Moody and Roberto Aguayo are the only two kickers who have been top-100 draft picks in the last 20 years. The 49ers selected Moody with the 99th pick in 2023. He had a solid rookie season, connecting on 21-of-25 field goals and 60-of-61 extra-point attempts.

Since the start of 2024, though, Moody has made 25 of his 37 field goals. His 67.6 success rate is the worst of any kicker with at least 30 attempts during that span.

The Bears will take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field in search of their first victory of the season.