This series will be a rundown of the top 20 players for the 49ers' 2020 season. Each player will be analyzed from his 2019 performance, to the cost of the player and what his future with the 49ers looks like.
Robbie Gould was one of the more controversial players of the 49ers 2019 off-season. As he held out from camp, the 49ers franchise tagged the veteran kicker and hoped to get a long-term deal done. It was well-known that Gould desired to head back to Chicago, where he played the first 11 seasons of his NFL career. The 49ers didn't budge, and eventually Gould signed a long-term contract with the 49ers that made him one of the highest paid kickers in NFL history.
2019 Performance
Gould was 23-31 on FGs in 2019 and 41-42 on XPAs. His 74.2% FG completion rate was the worst of his career. The total numbers don't tell the whole story for Gould though. Gould missed all of November due to injury. When he returned from that injury he was 17-18 on FG attempts and perfect on all FG attempts in the final 7 games of the 49ers season, including 3 playoff games. It seems as if Gould was not his usual self in the beginning of the season when he went 13-20 through the first 7 games of the 2019 campaign, but righted the ship and was vintage Gould down the stretch.
2020 Cost
Gould has a $5.1 million cap hit in 2020. With the 49ers' backs against the wall in terms of cap space, paying a kicker $5.1 million may not seem like the best idea. The 49ers would not save any money if they released him before 6/1/20 and would actually incur a $1.5 million cap penalty if they decide to release Gould. If the 49ers decided to trade Gould prior to 6/1/20, they could save $2.85 million against the cap.
Future Outlook
Chances are Gould will be on the 2020 roster. There is no way the 49ers will release Gould but there may be a slight chance the 49ers find an UDFA that they fall in love with and go looking for a trade partner for Gould. Expect Gould to be on the field for the 49ers in 2020, but nothing is guaranteed past that. The 49ers could release Gould after 6/1/21 and save themselves $4.5 million, essentially freeing themselves from the large contract of a then 38-year-old kicker.