The San Francisco 49ers have signed veteran kicker Matthew Wright, according to ESPN. This comes as the club's primary placekicker, Jake Moody, suffered a high ankle sprain in the team's Week 5 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Before landing on Wright, the Niners worked out an array of kickers, including Randy Bullock, Riley Patterson, Anders Carlson and Matt Coghlin. In the end, Wright gets the nod and will be the club's kicker when they take on the Seattle Seahawks in the Week 6 opener on Thursday night.
Moody injured himself with less than five minutes to play in the second quarter of Sunday's contest. After the 49ers blocked a Cardinals field-goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown, Moody was on the field for the ensuing kickoff. During the return, he was hit by Cardinals running back DeeJay Dallas while trying to make the tackle. Moody's right ankle bent awkwardly as he went to the ground.
Jake Moody #49ers
— Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT (@FantasyInjuryT) October 6, 2024
Right foot gets trapped, high ankle sprain mechanism on his kicking foot. Hope he’s okay pic.twitter.com/H5EsjiGeRI
This season, Moody had connected on 13 of his 14 field-goal attempts and all 12 of his extra points.
Meanwhile, Wright has been around the NFL since 2019, when he entered the league as an undrafted free agent of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of UCF. The 28-year-old has bounced around the league quite a bit, which includes a quick cup of coffee with the 49ers. In early September of last season, Wright signed with the Niners practice squad but was released five days later. He spent this summer with the Steelers but was waived in late August.
For his career, Wright has connected on 40 of his 47 field goal attempts (85.1%) and 35 of his 37 extra points.
