The Chicago Bears’ kicking woes may require a solution not named Robbie Gould, as it doesn’t appear the former Bear and will hit free agency.
According to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, the San Francisco 49ers are likely to use the franchise tag on Gould if a long-term deal can’t be reached:
If the 49ers are unable to work out a multi-year contract extension with kicker Robbie Gould, it would be a major surprise if the club did not use the tag to restrict his ability to sign with another team. The 49ers have plenty of salary-cap space to absorb a significant pay raise for Gould. The club is expected to have $67.5 million in cap room at the start of the new league year, according to figures from the NFL Players Association and overthecap.com. The franchise tag for a kicker is expected to be approximately $5 million for one season.
Gould has been lights out since being released by the Bears in 2016. He’s connected on 82 of 85 kicks and was the logical choice among fans to be Chicago’s top priority once free agency begins.
A reunion looks less likely now. Matt Bryant, Phil Dawson and Dan Bailey are the most appealing veterans expected to be available come March 13, and LSU’s Cole Tracy is a realistic option in the seventh round of April’s NFL draft.
