Who Should I Start? Zane Gonzalez or Joey Slye

Tuesday, September 5, 6:14 PM

San Francisco 49ers kicker Zane Gonzalez (calf) has been released by the team in order to clear some cap space on Tuesday. The 49ers placed the veteran kicker on IR last week as they pared their roster down to 53 players and he is now free to sign with any team, although, that may be difficult with his current injury. 2023 third-round pick, Jake Moody (quad) is expected to be the 49ers starting kicker once the regular season begins but he's dealing with an injury himself. San Francisco signed Matthew Wright as a backup if Moody can't suit up on Sunday at Pittsburgh. The 49ers are loaded at pretty much every position group on their roster but kicker, as it stands right now, is not one of them. They may need to bring in another reliable veteran kicking option if Moody's recovery takes longer than expected.

Thursday, May 2, 4:24 PM

Veteran free-agent kicker Joey Slye signed with the New England Patriots on Thursday, according to NFL.com. The 28-year-old signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars at the start of free agency on March 18 but was released just over a month later after the team drafted former Arkansas kicker Cam Little in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Since entering the league in 2018 as an undrafted free agent, Slye has spent time with the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, and Jaguars. In 75 career games, he has connected on 121 of his 147 field goal attempts and 138 of his 156 extra-point tries. He will likely compete with Chad Ryland for the starting place-kicking duties for New England this offseason.