Contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and Robbie Gould have taken a permanent turn for the worse. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the veteran kicker has rescinded contract proposals he sent to the 49ers and formally requested a trade.
In a turn of events, 49ers’ franchise kicker Robbie Gould has pulled his contract proposals that he sent to San Francisco and told the team he will not negotiate or sign a long-term deal with them, and he would like to be traded, Gould said Tuesday.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 23, 2019
San Francisco general manager John Lynch insisted on Monday that Gould, who the team slapped with the franchise tag in late February, would eventually report to the 49ers before the 2019 season, expressing contentment at the notion of the 36-year-old training separately from his teammates.
“Robbie’s a guy who works extremely hard at his craft,” he said, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “By virtue of his position, he can do that wherever he is. He can do it in Santa Clara. He can do it in Chicago… Robbie is going to be a part of us this coming year, I know that.”
Gould signed a two-year, $4 million deal with San Francisco in March of 2017. He led the league in field goals during his first season with the team, going 39-of-41 and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond 50 yards. Gould was just as effective in 2018, pacing the NFL with a 97.1 field goal percentage by connecting on 33 of his 34 kicks.
Gould has always maintained that he preferred a long-term contract to playing on the franchise tag this season, which would pay him just over $5 million. He'd previously shown interest in signing with the Chicago Bears, his former team, while the 49ers last month engaged in contract discussions with longtime New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
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