Kicker Robbie Gould Shares why he Didn't Re-Sign With the 49ers
Kicker Robbie Gould and the 49ers parted ways this offseason after six seasons.
It's unclear why the two sides couldn't reunite on a new deal. The 49ers elected to go younger and cheaper at the position when they drafted Jake Moody in the third round. While the 49ers found their replacement for their longtime kicker, Gould is yet to find a replacement team himself.
Well, it turns out Gould never wanted to leave the 49ers. He spoke with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area about it at the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe Resort. Gould sheds a bright light on why he and the 49ers coming together again never manifested.
“The change wasn’t my decision,” Gould said. “Obviously, at the end of the season, they had to make a decision and ultimately, they wanted to go in a different direction. We put out the tweet that we were going to go in a different direction once we found that out. It was a great run, and it was a lot of fun. I wish all my teammates nothing but the best... I would’ve loved to have gone back there. I told them I wanted to go back there. We never got an offer from the team, and we never had a conversation about coming back.”
This whole time it seemed like Gould was the one who decided he wanted a change of scenery. And maybe he did. Maybe he's just saying all of this now because free agency didn't go the way he wanted it to and remains unsigned still. But I think his words can be taken at face value. I am sure he wanted to stay with the 49ers... at his price. The 49ers are not fools when it comes to a player's value. It's why they tried to trade right tackle Mike McGlinchey this time last year. They knew they were going to be priced out.
Another factor is the 49ers probably thought Gould was at the end of his rope. It started to show with his kickoffs no longer generating adequate touchbacks. Kicking off might not be his strength anymore, but he's still an excellent field goal kicker from 50 yards. Perhaps that isn't good enough anymore, or at least not for a guy who wants to be around the top of paid kickers.
I'm sure Gould will get signed soon as team's start to realize how poor their kicking situation is.
