Robbie Gould does not want to be in San Francisco much longer, but he will, at the very least, have to spend one more season as the 49ers' kicker, as Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan says the team will not grant his trade request.
“We understand that he doesn't want to live here long-term and he's made that clear to us, and we get that,” Shanahan said, according to Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. “But we do have a franchise tag and he's that good of a kicker that he's worth franchising. So, unfortunately, we know we're not going to have him long-term here. I think that's been pretty clear. No hard feelings about that. I do understand his reasons. But pretty excited to have a good kicker this year.”
Gould, who has not reported to the 49ers' offseason program and has not yet signed his $4.97 million franchise tender, confirmed on Tuesday that he had asked the organization for a trade.
The 36-year-old would prefer to play closer to Chicago, where he spent the first 11 years of his career as a member of the Bears. Gould's family still resides in the Windy City, so you can certainly see why Gould would want to be closer to home.
Gould is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he made an incredible 33 of his 34 field-goal attempts.
The second-most accurate kicker in NFL history, Gould went undrafted but saw his first NFL action back in 2005. He made the Pro Bowl in his second season, also earning a First-Team All-Pro selection that year.
Follow Us
Subscribe