5 moves SF 49ers should plan on making for 2021 offseason
By Peter Panacy
No. 5: SF 49ers must cut kicker Robbie Gould
San Francisco never should have franchise-tagged Robbie Gould last season, which subsequently resulted in a four-year, $19 million contract.
Yes, kickers are important (just ask the Chicago Bears) and play a vital role. And aside from a lackluster start to 2019, Gould has been nearly automatic on field goals and extra-point attempts since joining the squad in 2017.
Investing that much money in a specialist, though, wasn’t a smart choice. But with two option years kicking off in 2021, it would be the simplest of moves for the SF 49ers to part ways.
Doing so would free up $3.75 million in much-needed cap space against $1.5 million in dead money. If the Niners could somehow wait to engineer the cut after June 1 next year, the savings would increase to $4.5 million.
Currently, San Francisco has $23,260,308 in cap space against 2021, and a would-be cutting of Gould would make that figure closer to $28 million.
And a good chunk of that money could be used to address the next item on the 49ers’ to-do list, retaining left tackle Trent Williams.