Robbie Gould won’t be kicking for the Bears next season.
The 49ers are giving their placekicker the franchise tag, taking him off the free-agent market. The two sides can still work out a long-term contract extension; if not, the franchise tag will keep him in San Francisco for a year.
The Bears will have to look elsewhere to solve their kicking woes once they cut Cody Parkey at the start of the league year.
Gould, whom they cut before the 2016 season, was considered the most accomplished potential veteran free agent.
Earlier this month, the 36-year-old made a return to the 49ers sound likely. The 49ers’ window to tag Gould opened a week ago and extended to March 13.
“Obviously I still have an affinity for the city of Chicago,” Gould told the Sun-Times in Atlanta, where he was a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. “They have exclusive rights to talk to me until free agency opens up. I think there’s a mutual understanding of wanting to go back there — but I’ve been through free agency before and you never know what’s going to happen. …
“They’ve said they wanna bring me back, obviously. At some point we have to negotiate a contract. …. When the time’s right, they’ll do that and we’ll figure it out. If not, we’ll figure it out.”
Gould, made 72 of 75 field goals and 55 of 59 extra point attempts in two seasons with the 49ers.
