SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator Brant Boyer hopes this year’s punter competition lasts longer than last year’s kicker competition.That battle, between Jake Moody and Greg Joseph, ended when Joseph was cut on Aug. 4. It wasn’t because Moody was clearly better. Joseph, in fact, was slightly more accurate in their training camp competition.Instead, it was because the 49ers became so depleted by injuries — 18 players missed practice at the time — that they couldn’t afford to keep two kickers on the 90-man roster. One week into the regular season, Moody was cut, too.A year later, the 49ers are approaching those injury numbers. Fourteen players sat out Monday’s practice, including three of the team’s top four draft picks, De’Zhaun Stribling, Kaelon Black and Gracen Halton, as well as their top free-agent pickup, Mike Evans. That total did not include receiver Ricky Pearsall, who is already on injured reserve. In addition, two defensive linemen, Nick Bosa and Alfred Collins, have yet to practice in full.Are the 49ers too old?Vic Tafur and Matt BarrowsBoyer said he wants to see how punters Corliss Waitman and Jack Bouwmeester handle high-pressure situations in the preseason, both as punters and holding for Eddy Piñeiro on kicks.“It’s easy to do out here on the field, but how are you going to react when there are 75,000 people watching you, and it’s a national TV game?” Boyer said.Neither candidate is established.Waitman, 31, has bounced around the league since 2020, although he served as the Steelers’ full-time punter the past two seasons. His 41.7-yard net average last year ranked 15th in the league, and his 26 punts inside the 20-yard line ranked 10th.Bouwmeester, meanwhile, is a 27-year-old rookie from Australia who punted at the University of Texas last year. He’s a right-footed punter, while Waitman is a lefty.