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.
Two 49ers players listed among Next Gen Stats' top disruptors of 2022
By David Bonilla
9 hrs
Nick Bosa was a monster in 2022. He'll probably be a monster again in 2023. The San Francisco 49ers pass rusher is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NFL with 18.5 sacks and frustrating so many opposing quarterbacks.
It's no surprise to see Bosa on Next Gen Stats' list of the top 10 disruptors of 2022. The defensive end comes in at No. 2 in the ranking, with only Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys ahead of him. After such an impressive campaign, why isn't Bosa listed in the top spot?
"Well, it was a narrow miss," writer Nick Shook admits. "Bosa's totals are right up there with the top player on this
Deommodore Lenoir: 49ers' Brandon Aiyuk will be a top-5 WR in 2023, put "everybody on notice"
By David Bonilla
5 hrs
Brandon Aiyuk is a favorite to be the San Francisco 49ers' breakout player of 2023. Last season, the wide receiver surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his career, hauling in eight receiving touchdowns along the way.
Teammates, fans, and the media aren't the only ones predicting a big year for the fourth-year wideout.
"I'm about to take off," Aiyuk declared last week. "That's it. ... We all know it's football. Nothing's ever guaranteed, but just getting a better understanding for my life as a person, and then as a football player, kind of putting those things together and then just looking to get better.
"I feel like, now, having another
49ers Notebook: Javon Hargrave's first 49ers thoughts; Trent Williams' weird late-night workout schedule; Wilks on DBs; Deommodore Lenoir wants to be elite
By Kirk Larrabee
59 mins
The 49ers ended their offseason workout program on Wednesday with their final session of mandatory minicamp. But before they made their way out the door for the summer, the team gave fans and reporters one last dose of info in the form of the final media sessions of the spring.
Among those speaking to reporters on Wednesday were defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, as well as defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Each session produced some interesting tidbits, which we'll review in this version of 49ers notebook.
Hargrave speaks
Despite being the splash free agent addition of the offseason for the 49ers, Javon Hargrave had not met with the team's beat reporters in person before Wednesday.
As the sun rose over the horizon, fans of the San Francisco 49ers came from all over, with great anticipation, as General Manager, John Lynch, slowly trudged his way upon the hill, disappearing into the fog for just a moment, and reappearing with Kyle Shanahan, to proclaim Brock Purdy the heir to the 49ers' QB throne. (Cue the "Circle of Life" track!)
Alright, so it wasn't exactly like that. But the 49ers' brass has made it a point this offseason to ensure everyone knows Purdy is the team's starting quarterback, once he's healthy. And while it may have lacked the drama of a scene from The Lion King, the declaration was just as impactful. (You know, if we could have had Lynch look out over the kingdom, and then hold young Purdy up in front of the team's cheering
