The San Francisco 49ers have made several roster moves over recent days to comply with the league’s deadline on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, when all 32 teams in the NFL had to cut down to 53 players from 90.
Among those moves at the deadline was the release of punter Thomas Morstead, who the lone punter on San Francisco’s roster. While the move was a bit surprising, it was almost certainly roster manipulation with the 49ers trying to sneak some players onto the original 53-man roster for various reasons.
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Knowing that, Morstead took to social media to share his reaction, which was a callback to a famous Aaron Rodgers interview on an ESPN Milwaukee radio show.
As a punter and 16-year veteran, Morstead understands the business of the game, so he’s not surprised by this move. He’ll likely be back on the roster in the next day or two and will be punting for the team in their Week 1 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field next Sunday.
San Francisco signed Morstead, who has averaged 41.5 net yards per punt throughout his career, earlier this offseason to address the obvious issue they had at the position in 2024. Pat O’Donnell and Mitch Wishnowsky split the 17-game season and averaged 38.6 net yards per punt, which was the second-lowest in the league, leading only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (37.5).
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Once Morstead is back, the 49ers should have stability at punter at least through their 2025 campaign.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers punter Thomas Morstead had iconic reaction to getting released