5 players the 49ers must add in free agency and the 2019 NFL Draft
No. 4: Kicker Robbie Gould
If the 49ers decide to only re-sign a handful of their free agents, kicker Robbie Gould needs to be one of them. With the Niners continued struggle in the red zone, they have had to call upon “Mr. Reliable” on more than one occasion to at least get some points on the board and remain competitive.
There just aren’t many kickers out there with Gould’s calibre, and to lose him would be almost disastrous. Since joining the 49ers in 2017, Gould has kicked 72 field goals from 75 attempts with a 97.1 percentage for 2018.
With both Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch claiming they would love to have Gould back on the roster, they need to make this signing sooner rather than later. He earned $2 million for his 2018 season, and it’s not unreasonable, given his skill and proficiency, that Gould asks for a pay raise, with some kickers earning over $4 million.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic recently disclosed that discussions between both the 49ers and Gould had not progressed as smoothly as expected and there is a chance Gould may in fact hit free agency:
#49ers, Gould have been talking about a new contract and John Lynch said the team wants to "reward" him for his steady kicking. But the scuttlebutt in Mobile last week was that the sides weren't close. And Dan's story makes it sound as if Gould expects to reach FA on March 13. https://t.co/njRqcqIDor
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) January 31, 2019
If the Niners fail to secure Gould’s services, expect some games to be a lot closer than we would like.