Around the Midwest, fans of the Chicago Bears are hopeful their team will re-sign kicker Robbie Gould.
The longtime former Bears kicker, who spent the past two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, is now without a contract and could soon be an unrestricted free agent. The Bears, meanwhile, suffered a crushing defeat in the playoffs when kicker Cody Parkey hit the upright late in a one-point decision at home to the Eagles.
The Bears have a great defense and a growing offense with young quarterback Mitch Trubisky, so having a more reliable kicker would help Chicago’s cause in 2019.
Yet the 49ers may not be so willing to let Gould get away.
Niners general manager John Lynch told the media recently that he is “hopeful” he can work something out to keep Gould in the Bay Area.
“He’s kicked unbelievably for us,” Lynch said. “He’s been incredibly clutch for us. We’d like to reward him for that.”
Gould made $4 million on his two-year deal with the 49ers for 2017-2018 and has been one of the NFL’s best kickers in that span. Even though he’s 37, the 49ers would likely have to give him a raise to stay with the team.
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This past season Gould made 33-of-34 field-goal tries and ended the season with a streak of 23 successful kicks. He led the NFL with a 97.1 percent accuracy rate. In 2017 he made an NFL-best 39 field goals on 41 attempts (95.1 percent).
