49ers roster: 3 kickers San Francisco should eye as Robbie Gould insurance

No. 1: Brett Maher’s NFL career hasn’t been great, but he’s another veteran kicker the 49ers could try out again

Brett Maher was one of the notable tryouts with Joey Slye when the 49ers were looking for a kicker.

Statistically speaking, Maher doesn’t stand out. But he’s a veteran kicker who can still get the job done.

Maher really took off in the CFL. He began with the Ottawa REDBLACKS before heading to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for one year and then back to Ottawa. In a bit of bad timing, the year Maher went to Hamilton, the REDBLACKS went on to win the Grey Cup.

In his final two years in the CFL, he hit 82 percent of his field goals in each season. His longest came in Hamilton when he knocked in a 58-yard field goal against the Calgary Stampeders.

Another advantage of a CFL kicker is they’re usually dual threats. Back in the day, Canadian rosters kept one player to be the kicker and punter. It was sometimes a bonus if they were Canadian due to the CFL’s unique rule of having a set number of national players on their rosters and on the field at one time.

Maher has a strong leg due to being a punter and kicker in Canada. Obviously, there are no plans to replace current punter Mitch Wishnowsky, but as we witnessed with Gould in warmups against the Seattle Seahawks, you can never be too prepared.

Ever since he went south of the border, Maher’s career has faltered. It’s pretty rare for a CFL kicker to succeed in the NFL for numerous reasons. But with the 49ers almost always needing a filler, Maher might be worth a kick or two.

Of course, we’ll live and ride with Robbie Gould as he comes back healthy and hopefully ready to help push the 49ers further this season.

But the three players mentioned shouldn’t be too far off the minds of the organization.