Remember when the Green Bay Packers couldn't beat the San Francisco 49ers? That all changed last season, and the Packers have run a few extra victory laps over Kyle Shanahan's squad ever since.
The Niners quietly ended the Jordan Love-Brock Purdy debate by handing their franchise quarterback a new deal with a surprisingly lower salary than Love's. They then doubled down with another questionable decision by signing a former Packer.
San Francisco has added veteran kicker Greg Joseph. His agent, Brett Tessler, announced the news on social media immediately after the Purdy extension.
Joseph spent time with the Packers last summer but failed to win the kicking job. The veteran struggled for consistency throughout training camp, and although he initially "won" the positional battle with Anders Carlson, his spot on the 53-man roster lasted all of one day. Green Bay signed rookie Brayden Narveson to replace him.
Packer Report's Andy Herman tracked every kick during Packers camp last year and had Joseph converting just 78.9 percent of his attempts. Only Alex Hale had a worse record, but Joseph still secured the roster spot due to Carlson's struggles to hit the easy kicks. In the end, the Packers replaced all of them.
Greg Joseph joins a growing list of recent Packers to play for 49ers
Joseph is now on his fourth team since leaving Green Bay last August. He converted 16 of 20 field goals during stints with the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, and New York Jets.
The 49ers had their own kicking problems, which meant turning to Anders Carlson for a period last term, the kicker Joseph "beat" during Packers camp.
They also signed De'Vondre Campbell, who quit on the team before the season ended.
The Niners really need to stop signing former Packers. Joseph will compete with Jake Moody for the kicking job in San Francisco, but Packers fans know what that feels like, as the team continued to struggle at the position until signing veteran Brandon McManus.
What's the famous saying? If you can't beat them, sign all their former players? That's the 49ers' new approach. Their dominance over the Packers ended last season when they took a 38-10 loss at Lambeau Field.
In the space of minutes, the Niners settled the Love-Purdy debate and then signed a kicker the Packers cut for a rookie. Ouch.