SANTA CLARA — The 49ers seemingly brought an end to the kicker competition on Monday before the kicker competition truly began.

With a need for depth at other spots on their 90-man roster, coach Kyle Shanahan said the team felt as if it was not wise to retain two kickers in training camp.

Therefore, the 49ers released veteran Greg Joseph , which appears to pave the way for Jake Moody to begin his third NFL season as the team’s kicker.

“It was more of just roster numbers,” Shanahan said. “I would’ve loved to keep him [Joseph] longer, allowed them to play that out longer. But we have 13 guys out of practice today and we got five guys on PUP.

“It’s just too many people [injured] to have that luxury. It’s awesome to have two kickers to battle, but they’re really not guys who take reps.

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