NEWSLETTER
The San Francisco 49ers brass is either bad at taking hints or unwilling to escape their feelings in order to accept the truth.
General Manager John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan are standing firm in not honoring Robbie Gould’s request for a trade:
John Lynch & Kyle Shanahan indicate #49ers will not be trading kicker Robbie Gould pic.twitter.com/DQoAXQvM7Q
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) April 26, 2019
Earlier in the week, Gould expressed a desire to be traded from San Francisco so he can be closer to his wife and three children in Chicago. Despite the request, the 49ers maintained they would not trade the kicker. It’s a situation Bears fans are keeping a close eye on because their favorite team doesn’t have a proven, reliable kicker on the roster. And while I’m #NotAGeographyExpert, Chicago is pretty close to Chicago. So you can see why all eyes are on this particular situation.
It’s been an awkward offseason for Gould and the 49ers, and the situation doesn’t appear to be improving in the immediate future. Before asking out of San Francisco, Gould was a no-show at the start of the 49ers’ offseason training program. That’s not usually a big deal for a kicker, but his absence showed evidence that a rift exists between him and the team. Gould had previously expressed a desire for a long-term deal (no matter where it was going to be), but that appears to be off the table now. It’s possible Gould could be miffed by the 49ers reportedly showing interest in free agent kicker Stephen Gostkowski when he and San Francisco have been nowhere close to a deal. That’s understandable, especially when your contract demands are already out there and can negotiate with only one team.
The 49ers hold most of the cards here. They can ultimately decide to trade Gould, un-tag him, or keep him (at the risk of Gould standing his ground and holding out if he truly doesn’t want to play in San Francisco). But all that will do is further drive a wedge between the two sides unless something drastically changes.
As for the Bears, it will be business as usual for a team that still doesn’t have a concrete solution to its kicking position. Perhaps the cure to what ails that position is in this draft. We’ll continue to monitor the situation because you never know what the next twist could be.
