The San Francisco 49ers used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Robbie Gould in March, ensuring the kicker remains with the team on a one-year, $4.971 million deal. Both Gould and the 49ers were hoping for a multi-year deal before the franchise tag came into play, but that never happened.
General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have both stated that they would love to get a long-term deal done. The hope was to continue working on one until the July 15 deadline when Gould would be forced to play on his one-year deal.
"We're very hopeful," Lynch said in February. "We did put the franchise tag on him but (are) very hopeful that we continue talking and try to come to an agreement to keep him around for a while."
Matt Barrows even posted the following interesting tidbit during a recent fan Q&A for The Athletic.
"No update on Gould, although it would surprise no one if he's not on hand when voluntary sessions start later this month. In fact, it would be a surprise if he does show up."
Now, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that the 49ers are showing interest in veteran free-agent kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who spent his first 13 NFL seasons with the New England Patriots.
"Gould and Gostkowski rank Nos. 2 and 3 all-time in NFL field-goal accuracy at 87.745 and 87.381, respectively, behind Justin Tucker," writes Maiocco. "Gould is 36, while Gostkowski is 35."
Maiocco goes on to state that the 49ers and Gould appear to be "at odds" over the team's decision to use the franchise tag on the kicker rather than working out a multi-year deal or allowing him to hit free agency. Gould's love for his former team, the Chicago Bears, is no secret. He lived out of a hotel last season while his wife and kids remained in their Chicago-area home.
As for Gostkowski, the Patriots made him a fourth-round selection out of Memphis in 2006. He made 27-of-32 field goal attempts (84.4 percent) and 49-of-50 extra point attempts (98 percent) through 16 games with the Patriots in 2018. Gostkowski has made 367-of-420 field goal attempts (87.4 percent) and 642-of-649 extra point attempts (98.9 percent) through his 13 NFL seasons.
