In 2023, 49ers tight end George Kittle will be teammates with a kicker other than veteran Robbie Gould for the first time in his career.
He’s hoping rookie Jake Moody lives up to the steady precedent set by Gould.
Kittle joined ESPN Chicago on Wednesday to speak with Gould -- who was co-hosting the “Waddle & Silvy Show” -- about the 49ers’ future at the position.
“Never once in my career did I ever [say], ‘Hey, it’s fourth down, Robbie Gould’s going out to kick a field goal.’ Not once was I ever in any sort of doubt,” Kittle said Wednesday. “I was like, ‘OK, well, there’s three points.’ Not worried about it at all.
“So, this will be a new experience for me.”
The 49ers surprisingly selected Moody, a kicker out of Michigan, in the third round (No. 99 overall) in April, making him the highest-drafted kicker since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Moody nailed 100 percent of his extra-point attempts and 82.1 percent of his field-goal attempts over five seasons at Michigan. He’s filling big shoes in the Bay Area, as Gould made 87.5 percent of his field-goal attempts over six seasons with the 49ers and has never missed a kick in the playoffs.
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“I know the kid we drafted in the third round, he’s going to be a good kicker,” Kittle said. “He’s made some big kicks in college, so I’m looking forward to that.
“But it is a little bit different. You’re just thinking about it maybe a little bit more because it used to be, ‘Hey, Robbie’s out there. Three points guaranteed.’ And even if Robbie did miss, I was like, ‘Eh, he’ll make the next five. I don’t really care. It is what it is.’ Never really had to worry about it.
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“So I’m going to stick with that type of confidence in my new kicker, and we’ll see what happens. He is a good kicker.”
Gould, who remains an unrestricted free agent, is a believer in Moody. The two kickers share an NFL agent, and Gould drove to Indianapolis to meet Moody in person during the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
“He’s a good kid,” Gould said Wednesday of Moody. “He’s a good kicker, too.”