It sounds like San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould has no plans to report to the team. He has pulled the contract proposals he sent to the 49ers and told the organization he no longer plans to negotiate on a long-term deal. Gould has also requested to be traded, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
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
The 49ers used the non-exclusive franchise tag on Gould back on February 26, which would have given the team until July 15 to negotiate a new long-term contract with the kicker. After that, he would have been forced to play under the one-year, $4.97 million deal.
"The 36-year-old Gould indicated that he has gotten tired of 14 months of futile contract negotiations and wants to be closer to his wife and children in Chicago," wrote Schefter.
General manager John Lynch and the 49ers expected Gould to be part of the team in 2019. The request comes one day after Lynch vowed that Gould would be the team's kicker during the upcoming season.
"Robbie's going to be a part of us this coming year," Lynch said on Monday. "I know that. We would like it to be longer than that, and we've made an attempt to make that happen. We haven't come to an agreement as of yet, and we'll see where that goes.
"Robbie will be a part of us this coming year, and we're excited for that because he's very good at what he does. And he's also a big part of this team."
Gould has remained in Chicago with his family as the 49ers kicked off phase one of their offseason program.
"We put the tag on Robbie because he's a great kicker and we don't want to lose him," Shanahan said in February at the NFL Scouting Combine. "We've been in negotiations with him for a while. We haven't come to a conclusion on it for both sides. It's really a credit to Robbie that -- it shows that we don't want to lose him.
"When we franchise him, it's because we're hoping to get more time to solve this with him. I know he's going to be a Niner this year. I know he's not going to be on someone else's team, but I really hope it's longer than one year."
Gould has been with the 49ers since the first day of free agency during Shanahan's inaugural offseason with the team in 2017. He is entering his 15th NFL season.
"The bottom line is, I'm unsure if I want to play there anymore," Gould told ESPN. "At this point, I have to do what's best for me and my family back home."
Gould completed 33-of-34 field goal attempts and 27-of-29 extra points last season. His 97.1 field goal completion percentage last year, which led the NFL (minimum 15 attempts), set the franchise record for the highest in a single season.
Gould had reportedly hoped to hit free agency before the 49ers used the franchise tag on him. The kicker calls the Chicago area home and might have wanted a reunion with his former team, the Bears, where he spent 11 seasons.
