San Francisco 49ers: 5 players who’ll be cut before contracts expire
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: 49ers Kicker Robbie Gould
It surely was strange the Niners placed the franchise tag on veteran kicker Robbie Gould last offseason, then giving him a four-year, $19 million deal was even a bit weirder.
In fact, one could argue this was the worst contractual move made by San Francisco during the John Lynch era, especially considering cheaper value capable of being found elsewhere.
Nevertheless, Gould’s status with the team took a serious hit when he went from a league-high 97.1 field-goal percentage in 2018 to a lowly 74.2 percentage last season. And while many of those misses came over the first half of the year, it’s easy to wonder if the 37-year-old Gould is hitting the regression phase of his lengthy career.
Going back to the financials, the last two years of Gould’s contract hold options, and he’d be due a whopping $5.25 million if he’s on the roster through 2021.
If cut, however, the Niners could save $3.75 million of that with $1.5 million in dead money. The following year, San Francisco could generate $4 million in cap space with only $750,000 in dead money.
For a team needing to think about extending players like Fred Warner and EDGE Nick Bosa, that’s money better spent elsewhere than Gould.