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Nick Wagoner
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers don’t yet know how long kicker Eddy Piñeiro will be out with a right hamstring injury, but they have decided who his temporary replacement will be.
The Niners announced Wednesday afternoon that they signed kicker Matt Gay to their practice squad, a move that allows them to evaluate Piñeiro on a weekly basis without having to alter the 53-man roster.
Piñeiro suffered a grade 1 hamstring strain in his right (kicking) leg in Sunday’s win against the Arizona Cardinals. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Piñeiro would be «week to week» and the Niners would work out multiple kickers over the past 48 hours.
In addition to Gay, the 49ers also had kickers Anders Carlson, John Parker Romo, Tanner Brown and Cade York in for tryouts before signing Gay.
Gay hit the free agent market this week when the Washington Commanders released him after continued struggles, including a pair of missed field goals in an overtime loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. Gay was 13-of-19 (68.4%) on field goal tries and made all 22 of his extra points in 10 games with Washington before his release.
Gay has played in 100 career games split among the Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts. He has made 84% of his 212 career field goal attempts.
Coincidentally, Washington replaced Gay with Jake Moody, whom the 49ers released in Week 2 to sign Piñeiro.
To make room for Gay on the practice squad, the Niners released receiver Russell Gage Jr.
