The San Francisco 49ers’ special teams took center stage as the franchise reshuffled its kicking plans last week. With Eddy Piñeiro sidelined, the 49ers moved quickly to secure a veteran leg for the primetime window. At the same time, head coach Kyle Shanahan outlined the next steps and reinforced confidence in the team’s recent acquisition.
Eddy Piñeiro Injury Update
Piñeiro did not play last week and is inactive for today’s game against the Cleveland Browns as well. The 49ers will turn to veteran Matt Gay for kicking duties. Gay, who kicked earlier this season for Washington, made both of his field goal attempts last week against the Carolina Panthers and converted both of his extra point attempts as well.
He came into San Francisco having gone 13-for-19 this year, including a 56-yarder, with only one miss inside 50 yards and a 4-for-9 mark from beyond 50. The move reflected the team’s immediate need for reliability inside standard ranges while Piñeiro recovers.
Latest On Piñeiro’s Return Timeline
Seven days before MNF, Shanahan acknowledged the need to expand the search at kicker while Piñeiro heals, noting the franchise would conduct evaluations midweek.
“We’re going to bring in some guys for a workout,” Shanahan said. “They’re working on that now. They’re going to do it either tomorrow or Wednesday.” That process produced a veteran replacement for Monday, while any return timeline for Pineiro remains tied to medical clearance and functional work in practice.
Shanahan also praised the impact Pineiro has made since arriving. “He’s been awesome so far,” Shanahan said of Pineiro. “Pumped that we’ve been able to get him.” The coach’s framing underscores organizational confidence in Pineiro once healthy, even as the team navigates a short-notice change for Week 12. The 49ers’ broader posture is to stabilize Week 12 with Gay, then revisit Pineiro’s status as the week progresses.
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As for Gay’s immediate role, the expectation centers on sound operation inside 50 yards and clean mechanics on short fields, particularly in end-of-half and red-zone sequences where a steady leg can tip possession edges.
San Francisco will tailor fourth-down decisions and kick selection to Gay’s current form while Pineiro’s recovery continues. The team has not provided a definitive timeline for Pineiro’s return; his availability will hinge on how quickly he can resume full-speed work without setbacks.
San Francisco 49ers’ Insights for Week 13
Team: After playing the Browns, the 49ers will head to their bye week before returning to host the Titans in Week 15. They finish with a visit to Indianapolis and home games against the Bears and Seahawks.
QB: Brock Purdy had the best QBi in the NFL in Week 12, marking his return against the Panthers. Purdy was able to overcome the interception to lead the league in QBi, as he posted the week’s best in Close-Game EPA/Dropback, a metric used for close games (when the game is within one possession), 3rd Down Conversion Rate, and 3rd/4th Conversion Rate.
Offense: The 49ers are 4-2 in games when they score 20 points or fewer. Coming into the season, San Fransciso was 7-40 under Kyle Shanahan when not scoring more than 20 points.
Defense: San Francisco registered a season-best DEFI (83.7, B) against the Panthers in Week 12. The 49ers are 28th in DEFi on the season.
Fantasy: That’s consecutive games where Jauan Jennings has had more targets than Rickey Pearsall has had yards. Brock Purdy is an efficient QB, and as he rounds into form, Jennings appears to have the inside track to WR1 duties.