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Each year, we run a series of post called "90-in-90" here at Niners Nation. The idea is that we'll take a look at every single player on the roster, from the very bottom to the top and break them down a few different ways. This is to help give everyone a basic understanding of a roster. Of course, this roster will change, and some days we'll have more than one so it's not strictly one per day but you get the idea.
Bradley Pinion is the 49ers’ starting punter, and the only one on their roster. He’s young and darned good, too; NFL.com listed him as the 49ers only player on their All-Under-25 list, saying:
Pinion darn near punted his leg off with 100 boots, averaging 44 yards per kick. Obviously, he was leaned on more than any punter in the game and did a heckuva job forcing fair catches instead of returns.
He’s not Johnny Hekker, but he’s not far off, still green and getting better. Last year Hekker was best in the league in touchback percentage, at an amazingly low 1.02 percent (just once in 98 punts); Pinion was tied for third in the NFL though (with Buffalo’s Colton Schmidt) at 4.0 percent. In fair catch percentage, Pinion was third again (41.0 percent) and ever so slightly ahead of Hekker (40.8 percent). He has clearly justified the 5th round draft pick used to get him in 2015.
Basic info
Age: 23 (turns 24 on June 1, 2018)
Experience: 2 accrued seasons
Height: 6’5
Weight: 229 lbs
2017 Base salary: $615,000
Signing bonus: $194,000
Bonuses: none
2017 cap charge: $663,550
What to expect in 2017
More good punting and another 80-90 punt season as the 49ers rebuild. Pinion’s distance could use some improvement (44.0 gross, 39.8 net) , and hopefully the new strength and conditioning team will help with that.
Odds of Making The Team
99.9999999999999999999 percent
Beyond the fact that he’s an excellent and extremely consistent young punter on his rookie contract, he’s also a backup kickoff man in case new kicker Robbie Gould gets injured. And there is no other punter on the roster. This one is not complicated.