4 critical items learned from 49ers Week 14 overtime win vs. Bengals
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: Robbie Gould still isn’t justifying 49ers contract for him
Sure, kickers are people, too. And if your team has a bad one, it goes noticed in a bad, bad way.
While it’s true, NFL kicking in general has been a notable problem throughout 2021, the 49ers still aren’t getting the kind of reliability they need from their veteran kicker, Robbie Gould, whose 47-yard field-goal attempt at the end of regulation could have easily stamped out the need for the extra frame.
Only to see that attempt sail wide right.
The Niners picked up Gould’s two option years for 2021 and 2022, and the veteran is scheduled to make $2.6 million this season and $5.5 million next year, according to Over the Cap.
Not exactly a great investment for a player who’d otherwise be expected to make those kinds of clutch game-winning field goals late.
Gould entered Week 14 with a field-goal percentage of 84.6, and the NFL average between 2015 and 2020 was 83.6.
A lot of money for a player is only marginally better at one point over league average but costing exponentially more than nearly every other at his position.