The 49ers have a now long-standing issue with their franchise kicker, Robbie Gould, and there’s no indication the team is any closer to solving it. Gould, who played most of his 14-year career with the Chicago Bears (11 years), asked the team to trade him on April 23. He signed a two-year $4 million contract with the 49ers back in 2017, and the team put their franchise tag on Gould for the upcoming season at $4.971 million, which Gould has yet to sign.
The 49ers have stated they will not trade Gould.
This brings us to Tuesday morning, when Gould was interviewed by NBC Sports Chicago and made it abundantly clear it’s where he’d prefer to play, especially after the team parted ways with starting kicker Cody Parkey after last season.
“This city’s been incredible,” Gould said. “No matter where I’ve gone, no matter where I’ve lived, no matter where I’ve played, Chicago has always been home.”
With regards to Gould’s rejected trade request, he said he’s putting everything in the hands of his agent, Brian Mackler, who said after the rejected trade request, “At this time, we are unsure when or if he will report. It will not be prior to Sept. 8, at the earliest, if at all.”
That leaves Gould, who said he’s, “…at a point in my career where my family is what’s going to dictate the decisions that I make,” to face a prospect of an extended holdout with the 49ers. It’s unclear whether Gould would be willing to simply sit out the season, or even retire, but the 49ers would need to acquire another kicker if either scenario played out into the regular season.
“It’s a complicated situation,” Gould said. “The way I’ve kind of approached it is, I want to spend time with my family. And I let my agent handle it, and if anything comes up that I have to make a decision or be in the know, he’ll call me and let me know. But right now there’s nothing to really know, and I’m just enjoying being home and being in Chicago.