The 49ers’ offseason special teams woes reached a new pinnacle Tuesday when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported kicker Robbie Gould requested a trade. The Mercury News’ Cam Inman confirmed the report.
“The bottom line is, I’m unsure if I want to play there anymore,” Gould told Schefter. “At this point, I have to do what’s best for me and my family back home.”
Gould was given a franchise tag by the 49ers earlier this offseason in hopes it would buy them time to work out a long-term deal. It appears per Schefter’s tweet that the two sides were still trying to iron out a multi-year contract when Gould’s trade request came in.
The 36-year-old is not at the 49ers’ offseason program and hasn’t yet signed his franchise tender. He also told Schefter he was put off by the team’s decision to pursue free agent kicker Stephen Gostkowski in the midst of negotiations with him.
Gould has made it well known he wishes to be closer to Chicago where he started his career and spent 11 seasons. His family resides in the Midwest, and the 14-year veteran never bought a home in California.
San Francisco signed Gould as a free agent in 2017, and his arrival quickly paid dividends. He hit 39-of-41 attempts in Year 1, then backed it up by hitting 33-of-34 a season ago. It’s not a surprise the 49ers were interested in keeping him around.
If the Bears are Gould’s desired destination, they’re one team in a position to acquire a kicker via trade. They parted ways with last year’s kicker Cody Parkey, and signed the unfortunately-named Chris Blewitt in the offseason. Gould would be an immediate upgrade for a team that was a field goal away from advancing in last year’s playoffs.
It’ll be interesting to see what the market is for Gould given his public desire to play for the Bears. The 49ers certainly aren’t obligated to trade him to a specific place, but teams may not be willing to trade much knowing he wants to be in Chicago.
San Francisco is now sitting potentially without a starting kicker or punter as they head into this year’s draft. Offseason signee Jonathan Brown is the only kicker on the roster, and he’s never played in an NFL game. The punter is Justin Vogel, who spent one season with the Packers.
Typically these aren’t huge areas of concern, but it’s become a big problem the 49ers must address before training camp.
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